First trip to New England

I’ve been wanting to go to Boston and New England in general for a while now, so as soon as Shay and Jerry said to come up to meet, do some exploring, and eat some good food, I didn’t hesitate to book a flight right away. I’ve known these guys on Instagram for a couple years now, so I knew it would be fun. Unfortunately, Shay had something come up and couldn’t meet up this weekend. Hopefully next time. By the time I got to Boston, picked up my rental car, checked in to the hotel, and drove to Jerry’s house, it was getting kinda late, so we didn’t have much time to explore. The first stop was a school that was pretty awesome. Only school I’ve been to with a boxing ring. It was huge and had a lot of stuff in it, but we didn’t stay too long. We also stopped by an old gun factory, but it was getting dark and we didn’t even take any pictures. Here are a few shots from the the school.

lab room hallway art room classroom glove pool table gym heavy bag  old Mac vacuum

Jerry suggested burgers or Middle-Eastern food for dinner, so I elected to go for a burger. We went to Prime 16 and it definitely didn’t disappoint. I probably should’ve booked a hotel closer to Jerry’s because I didn’t get back to the hotel until late, then had to set my alarm for 4:20am to get an early start on Saturday morning. Met at Jerry’s then drove for a while to an old hospital. We got there nice and early, but there were already people everywhere, jogging and walking their dogs. Nonetheless, we found a way in undetected and got to work. We could’ve spent the entire day there, but we only stayed a few hours and explored 3 of the buildings there. It had some crazy old tubs, a dark bowling alley, and some awesome hallways (among other things).

projectors bowling alley board nurses' station stage sink numbered tub decay light med cup checkered weird chair sink fan tub fire hose green bathroom picture broken wall colors room chair kiln bed

We probably stayed too long, because we had to drive a bit to the next location, an old school that had a few interesting buildings. The first building had a huge theater that still had the old projectors and everything. The other buildings seemed like living quarters or medical buildings where they cared for the kids. It had some pretty cool old restraint chairs and sewing machines and stuff. We could’ve really stayed there all day too, but we had to make the tough decision to haul ass to one last location before the sun went down.

theater RCA Victor projectors storage bed desk painted bathroom painted room sketchy floor eggs old stuff wooden restraint chair showers boxes green chair hallway

A bit of a drive and a long walk later, and we were at the last location, another old hospital. Coming from the South, it’s pretty unreal how many psych hospitals are scattered across the northeast. Really glad we went to see the last place, even though we didn’t have much time and only explored one building. Luckily, Jerry had been there a few times and knew where all the good stuff was. Before we knew it, it was getting dark, so we made the hike back to the car and grabbed some New England BBQ, which was pretty damn good considering I’m used to some of the best BBQ you can find anywhere, in Atlanta.

green tub hallway sink sheet bathroom couch tub bed frame beds blue tub

Another late night and super early morning and we were on our way to another hospital. It took a while to get to, so again, the sun was up and shining and people were everywhere. We took a walk around he building, looking for our best entry option and we noticed an alarm going off inside. Kinda sketchy, but hey, we were already there, we were going in no matter what. We got in and the alarm was absolutely blaring. I thought for sure the fire department or police would show up, but apparently no one cared, even with an active facility next door. This hospital had a couple nice chapels and was full of all kinds of interesting stuff that was left behind.

large chapel pictures chapel coat bedroom mary bedroom 157 iron lung attic pink room office decay old beer and mic blue chapel stairs

After driving for a few hours, we stopped by an abandoned courthouse, something I’ve never seen before. Unfortunately, it was sealed and there was a marked car sitting in the back, keeping close watch. We decided to try a nearby church instead. We struck out again and decided to go grab some food and regroup. Aside from being unbelievably delicious, it must’ve been good luck, too. We went back to the courthouse, cop was gone, and we found a way in. It was pretty unreal. I can see why they keep it so secure. The inside still had stuff in it, and was pretty pristine aside from all the peeling paint. The light/shadows in some areas was awesome. Just an amazing place. Might be the only time I ever see anything like that.

courtroom back court phone booths entrance  records skylight close up holding cell cell shadows stairs entryway stairway lottery room lottery tickets stairs courtroom police directions doorway

Feeling a nice sense of accomplishment, we were off to yet another partially active hospital. It was a good distance away, so we were again pressed for time. And again, I was lucky to have Jerry there as he’d been there several times and knew which building was best. This place was really falling apart, but had some cool stuff left behind. We left to try to do another building or two, but we got spooked by a truck (which was probably no one that cared) and we ended up cutting the evening short. We had time to get a few decent shots from there though. Considering we were pressed for time most of the weekend, we saw a lot, but I feel like I could explore for a month up there. Can’t wait to go back and explore with Jerry again, and finally meet Shay.

chair jenga sketchy floor straps bathroom pillows suitcase stairway wheelchair

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