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Journal
June 16th 2006-
We've decided our first stop will be foxboro state hospital, John and Brendan visited the hospital grounds the other day to get a feel for it and take some outside pics, unfortunatly they were greated by a security guard along the way and were asked to leave, not wanting to cause any problems at the moment decided to play it safe and leave...
Check out the photography section to view some of Johns pics of the hospital and remember their will be pleanty more to come!!!
June 24th 2006-
Well we've done it!!! (Brendan and John) We were successful in our operations at Foxboro State Hospital, We went in around 1am undetected using the downpouring rain, thunder, and lighting to our advantage. we were able to get into 6 different building area's and capture many photo's in each location of the building, however due to the lack in proper equipment the filming turned out to be more of an audio clip containing commentary about what we experianced and noticed in certain places... We do entend on taking one more trip their, due to the fact that we missed several other spots such as the administration building and any of the above floors...
New pics from John will be up shortly and video clips from Brendan are now up!!! This means check them out NOW!!!!!!!!!!
July 9th 2006-
Pics from John are up!!!! theirs still more to be added soon so check back, and dont forget to leave us some love in our guestbook and check out Tiki Tattoo for some sick tats from Anna!!!!!!!
July 18th 2006-
Newspaper Article and photographs taken from The Sun Chronicle reguarding a fire at Foxboro State Hospital on July 15th 2006
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Hot time in Foxboro FOXBORO -- A four-alarm fire Friday afternoon gutted an historic building at the former Foxboro State Hospital and sent five construction workers renovating it into condominiums scurrying for safety. The fire in the third floor, attic and roof of a former patients' ward took nearly two hours to get under control with firefighters battling temperatures topping 90 degrees as well as the flames. A Plainville firefighter suffered a heat-related injury while fighting the 12:30 p.m. blaze but his injury was described as not life-threatening. The four-alarm fire was the first in Foxboro in a decade and sent 75 firefighters from 11 surrounding communities to help with the blaze. The blaze was located in a brick building on Payson Road, built in 1891, and spread to the cupola and roof of an adjacent former ward building before it was extinguished. The cause of the blaze was ruled an accident but the exact nature of the cause was not immediately clear. No damage estimate was available. The fire was the largest in Foxboro since the Ancyent Marinere hotel and restaurant on Mechanic Street was gutted on Feb. 21, 1997, Foxboro Fire Chief Gerald McNamara said. The fire Friday was spotted by off-duty Foxboro fire Capt. Donald Treannie who was driving on Chestnut Street, which intersects with Payson Road. Foxboro fire Capt. Treannie said he was visiting the new public safety building site when he spotted white smoke near the ward building. However, he saw heavy black smoke, and fire coming from the roof, when he drove toward the building about 5 to 10 minutes later. He then radioed fire headquarters. McNamara said firefighters initially focused firefighting efforts from outside the building because no one was inside and the structure was under renovation. Firefighters shot water at the roof and the walls from ladder trucks and the grounds. `` This was a completely exterior attack,'' McNamara said. `` There was no reason for risking firefighters' lives.'' Project Manager David Crocini said the five construction workers in the building made it out safely. Building Commissioner William Casbarra said his office will analyze the incident. Casbarra said he believed the construction workers were removing material and doing asbestos abatements at the time of the fire. The building was otherwise empty. Property owner VinCo Properties of Boston is planning a 70-condominium complex, known as Chestnut Green, as part of the reuse plan for the 93-acre state hospital land, Crocini said. The 93-acre parcel is also eyed for 100,000 square feet of commercial space; 55,000 square feet of retail space; 73 single-family homes; and a new police and fire station. A public hearing will be held at town hall on Tuesday to discuss VinCo's plans, said Jack Authelet, Foxboro's unofficial town historian. Crocini said VinCo still plans to restore the ward to its historical appearance. The property is listed on the National Historic Register, he said. `` It's sad. We've grown to love these buildings over the past year. They're gorgeous. You can't construct anything like this today,'' Crocini said. `` We'll fix it.'' Resident Ellen Pillsbury hopes so. |
July 25th 2006-
New location has been updated!!! their is not information on the site yet but their will be shortly... The site is located in Hanover and we will be making a trip up their this Saturday the 29th to meet our dearest friend Heather to take us on a tour of the abandonded hospital, we promise their will be alot of great pictures for this visit!!!!
September 20th 2006-
Although we had to postpone our Hanover trip we have added a new one for the weekend of Oct. 7th, the location will be added after the trip for security reasons... also new slide show has been added to mikes section from last weekends second Foxboro State trip, although their are few pics they are good quality and interesting... also please leave us feedback about our merchandise section!!! thanks!!!
October 13th 2006-
Recent article regarding Met State Hospital:
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October 14th 2006-
Last night at approx. 1am Mike and I (Brendan) went to waltham to explore Met State Hospital, forgetting the fact that it was friday the 13th we realized why so many cops and security were protoling the site (to catch stupid drunk punk kids vandalizing and tresspassing) anyways, after some thought and courage and a will to encounter the spiritual realm we snuck in... when we approached the complex everything around us seemed to quiet down and we both started to get sickly feelings. We felt so sick, that at anytime we'd vomit, we also felt many different emotions, those of anger and of deep depressed thoughts... Nevertheless as soon as we reached the first building we heard noises as those of doors being slammed shut, soon after it was to My attention that a patrol car was heading up this way and we booked it to the nearest brush for cover, after 15 minutes in hiding we headed out again to a building on the hill within the site. as we walked around I picked up some readings from the EMF detector but nothing too strong, we entered the building from the back side and explored the halls, after we took the picture of the x'd out elevator we turned down a hall and stopped dead in our tracks to the slamming of a heavy steel door to the hallway next to us, the door opened and slammed closed 4 times repeatedly within 5 to 8 seconds, after that we left feeling emotions of anger and did not want to displease any unwelcoming spirits, we left and walked around taking any picture we thought could be of use to our research or simple for the art of things... once we left our mixed emotions and sickly feelings faded... we hope to return back to explore more of the site and take more photo's and hopefully a more intense spiritual encounter....
~Brendan
October 20th 2006-
Those in the association have conversed and we have decided to expand our Association!!! we intend to further our Association to a more professional bases where we would take calls to investigate hauntings in houses or any other place of interest for small fee's and work professionally and diligantly to ensure anoutstanding amount of quality with a reasonable price to our customers. However with this being said we are promoting our expansion by selling t shirts and other merchandise and excepting donations to help pay for more equipment to allow us to get the job done right...
We thank those who give us your time to help us out with donations or purchases!!!
December 28th2006-
Important Information: - November 24, 2006 Update: We have received the following email: The Massachusetts Department of Public Safety, Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Police Department, Massachusetts Environmental Conservation Police and Massachusetts State Police state:
Recently in the past week, there has been severe vandalism to construction equipment and one suicide on the grounds. The buildings are half gone and VERY unsafe. There is now construction workers there all day, and a uniformed Police officer (no more security) for 12 hour shifts. Please add this new information and/or remove your Met State entry. Thank You. - MA DPS Police
if you do so decide to go to any of these grounds, we are NOT liable for any deaths injuries or arrest... *****
April 8th 2007-
Fire Damages Former Mental Hospital
BOSTON -- A massive four alarm fire at the former Danvers State Mental Hospital lit up the night sky and forced a number of residents from their homes overnight Saturday.
Flames shot up hundreds of feet in the air and could be seen for miles after the blaze began at about 1:30 a.m.
The hospital has been closed for years, but the buildings were in the process of being developed into condominiums and apartments.
Officials say eight buildings were destroyed, including four unfinished apartment buildings and four utility buildings.
State police evacuated residents living in new apartments on the property as a precaution and closed nearby Route 1.
Some firefighters suffered minor burns because of the intensity of the flames, the Danvers Fire Department said.
The hospital was built in 1878 and closed to patients in 1992. In 2005, the property was sold to Avalon Bay Development which is building 497 apartments and condominiums on the 77 acre site.
Fire crews were expected to stay at the scene through Saturday to watch for hot spots.
The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.
Fire devours ex-psych site
Blaze likely to burn into this morning; Route 9 traffic snarl possible
Flames exploded in the night sky as firefighters worked long hours to extinguished a blaze that consumed the main administration building at the former Hudson River Psychiatric Center in the Town of Poughkeepsie Thursday. The fire could be seen for miles.
The fire was under control at 10:30 p.m., though it continued to burn. Crews from the Fairview, Roosevelt and New Hamburg fire departments remain at the scene this morning and will likely be there for the rest of the day, according to the Fairview Fire Department.
An investigation into the cause of the blaze, which could be seen for miles and brought at least 14 different fire companies to the national landmark, will be overseen by the chief of the Fairview Fire Department. An investigation has yet to be launched, as crews are still working at the scene.
Across the Hudson River in Highland, flickering flames, a bright orange glow and a towering cloud of smoke were clearly visible as late as 2 a.m. Friday morning.
"The whole thing was engulfed. Flames were shooting way, way up in the air," David Powles, a City of Poughkeepsie resident said. "Just pure black smoke."
The former volunteer firefighter watched the flames from the Staples parking lot on Route 9, where firefighters worked to bleed fire hydrants for more water.
"The main challenge was access and getting water," said Tory Gallante, deputy fire chief with Fairview Fire District.
The picturesque property, laden with scattered brick buildings and mature ivy, has been abandoned for years. The old hydrants at the scene provided no assistance, so firefighters had to seek alternate hydrant locations.
Hoses were connected to sides of Route 9 and trained all the way up the windy hill. Route 9 was closed off in both directions, so cars wouldn't damage the hoses. It was unclear Thursday night whether other roadways would be affected during the morning commute.
"We're going to be here, definitely, until the morning," Gallante said Thursday night.
It was too early for officials to determine a cause.
The 911 call came in just after 7 p.m. and at least 14 different companies from Ulster and Dutchess counties responded, including fire, police and emergency medical services.
"Yet again, the combination of municipal services was helpful," Town of Poughkeepsie Supervisor Patricia Myers said.
Wind was not a factor in the fire, Gallante said. The fire, though it continued to burn, was under control by 10:30 p.m.
The fire was basically contained to six floors of the main building, Gallante said.
The Hudson River site's main administration building was completed in 1871 and is designated as a national landmark. The site's owner, developer Hudson Heritage CPCR Ventures, had plans to transform the massive site into a combination of commercial and residential uses.
The developer paid the state $2.75 million in 2005 for the sprawling, 156-acre property off Route 9 in the Town of Poughkeepsie, including the historic 19th-century administration building and other buildings on the center's former campus.
Hudson Heritage had planned to redevelop the site with an eye toward preserving its historic aspects.
A town ban on residential construction of 11 lots or more had delayed progress on the proposed development.
The psychiatric center remains open on another part of the property not included in the 2005 purchase.
A few curious civilians attempted to enter the property Thursday evening to take pictures, though they were quickly deflected by police.
"We were just concerned for their safety," Town of Poughkeepsie police Sgt. Kenny Roman said.
No firefighters had sustained injuries as of Thursday night and no one was believed to have been in the building.
Reach Christine Pizzuti at cpizzuti@poughkeepsiejournal.com or call 845-437-4882.
October 2007 -
“From State Hospital to Stately Homes”
September 29th 2007
Matthew K. Roy
Salem News
DANVERS - Off the main entrance is a cafÉ with free Internet access.
Scott Dale, a vice president of developer AvalonBay, promised the cafÉ's flat-screen television would be turned to the Red Sox game in time for last night's first pitch. He then imagined the setting as a place neighbors would congregate to watch "Monday Night Football."
Dale yesterday led tours of the Kirkbride building, an abandoned insane asylum recently transformed into upscale apartments. AvalonBay opened the doors of the Kirkbride on the old Danvers State Hospital grounds to give town officials a look at a development years in the making.
Down a long hallway from the cafÉ is a lounge with couches and more televisions. Take a left just before the lounge and there's a basketball half-court.
Turn right and there's a fitness room with a row of treadmills and more flat-screen televisions. Walk through the lounge and out the back door, there's a spacious porch overlooking a swimming pool.
AvalonBay is betting these plush amenities will help trump any hesitation prospective renters may have because of the site's infamous history - lobotomies, electric shock treatments and bodies buried in unmarked graves.
"They've done a very nice job," Planning Board Chairman Margaret Zelinsky said. "It's exciting to see it moving along and being occupied."
AvalonBay purchased the 77-acre Danvers State Hospital site for $12 million late in 2005. The Virginia-based developer is in the midst of building 433 apartments and 64 condominiums atop Hathorne Hill.
Most of the old hospital was demolished to make way for new construction. But 100,000 square feet of the historic Kirkbride, about one-third of the original structure, was saved and refurbished.
The building's 130-year-old Victorian Gothic facade was held in place while the inside was gutted and rebuilt.
"It's the hardest thing I have ever done," Joseph Ssentongo, a project manager for AvalonBay, said of overseeing the construction.
The red brick Kirkbride building, with its steeply pitched sections of roof and gables, now encloses 61 one- and two-bedroom apartments. So far, eight units have been rented.
AvalonBay had to use 31 different floor plans to fit all the apartments into the shell of the Kirkbride. The design challenge generated various perks, like 11-foot ceilings in a first-floor, one-bedroom apartment.
"We had to do that because of the height of the windows," Dale said.
The apartments, mostly carpeted, have granite countertops and maple cabinets.
"The apartments in this building have a little higher level of finish," Dale said.
It means they're a little more expensive than the apartments that are part of the new construction on the site. The one-bedroom showpiece in the Kirkbride would be rented at $1,500 a month, Dale said.
The Kirkbride building, named for 19th-century physician Thomas Story Kirkbride, provides views of Boston and the ocean from its upper floors. Its confines are comfortable and modern, but some of the old lingo is hard to shake.
"This is the end of C ward," Danvers fire Chief James Tutko said, describing the location of an apartment to fellow tour takers.
A fire this April destroyed three unfinished buildings next to the Kirkbride that were to house 147 apartments. State and local fire investigators said Wednesday that the cause of the blaze was "officially undetermined."
The first of those three buildings should be ready for tenants by February. Reconstruction will be complete by May 2008.
The first apartments in the development, across the property from the location of the fire, opened early last spring. So far, 173 apartments have been leased and more than 150 are occupied.
The Kirkbride years:
* 1874: Construction begins atop Hathorne Hill.
* 1878: "The State Lunatic Hospital at Danvers" opens. Boston architect Nathaniel J. Bradlee is behind the Victorian Gothic design.
* 1940s-1960s: The hospital treats more than 2,000 patients at peak even though it was built to handle fewer than 600.
* 1992: State closes hospital.
* 2005: Developer AvalonBay purchases the 77-acre hospital site for $12 million.
* Spring 2007: Fire destroys three unfinished apartment buildings.
* Fall 2007: Apartments fashioned in the 100,000-square-foot section of the Kirkbride spared from demolition are ready for tenants.
December 29th 2008 - EPRA would like to welcome Photographer Lauren Mazzotta as part of the EPRA crew, she will not only provide us with her skilled photographs but will assist in investigations. Thanks Lauren for joining!!!
- At this time we would also like to announce our trip to Poughkeepsie NY will be underway this summer to spend a weekend investigating Hudson State, we are open to having an additional 2 guest take part in this investigation. If you are interested please contact us via email, all we ask is a few bucks towards gas. thanks - Brendan
January 2nd 2009 - EPRA would like to remind everybody to pick up a copy of Chris Balzano's latest book "Ghosts of the Bridgewater Triangle" we're mentioned in it for our contributions at Foxboro State!!!
January 11th 2009 - EPRA would like to welcome a new member to the team, Anthony Sanchez from AZ!!! He will be organizing and leading a small team based in AZ for EPRA! Check for updates from Anthony. Remember we're always looking for new people to join up with us, especially around the Massachuesetts area...
October 28th 2009 - It has been a long time since we have updated this, in fact it has been quite some time since we have actually done anything productive haha. Here's an update for ya, we're finally going to Hudson state soon! so check back sometime next month for updates, pictures, video, evp. We're finally getting things done and set up. ~BrendanAreI
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