Letchworth Village, Former mental health institution in Thiells, New York
Letchworth Village is a vacant complex in Thiells, New York State. Red brick buildings stand between overgrown paths, some burned, others with collapsed roofs and broken windows.
The grounds opened in 1911 as a residential facility for people with disabilities and admitted thousands over the decades. It closed in 1996 after reports of poor treatment drew public outcry.
The cemetery sits one kilometer away and carries steel plates stamped with numbers that mark former residents. Some families added headstones later, but most graves carry only these numbered markers.
The buildings are not open to visitors, but the grounds are sometimes explored by photographers and history enthusiasts. Those who visit the area should watch for uneven floors, missing stairs, and collapsing structures.
A 1972 documentary about the facility showed overcrowded rooms and neglected residents, shocking television audiences. That program led to new laws for care facilities nationwide and marked a turning point in public awareness.
Location: New York
Inception: 1911
Address: Letchworth Village Rd, Thiells, NY 10984, USA
Phone: +19143526710
Website: http://letchworthvillage.info
GPS coordinates: 41.21479,-74.02368
Latest update: December 4, 2025 12:49
This collection brings together former psychiatric hospitals and sanatoriums that carry difficult histories and reputations as places where the past seems to linger. Many of these buildings stand empty or have been converted to new purposes, but they all share a common thread: they once treated patients under conditions that were often experimental and sometimes cruel. Over the years, accounts of mistreatment, strange occurrences, and unexplained presences have drawn historians, urban explorers, and visitors curious about the darker chapters of medical history. From the northeastern United States to isolated corners of Europe, Asia, and other regions, each site tells its own story of suffering and change. The collection includes places like Willard Asylum in New York, where patients spent entire lifetimes behind its walls, and the Gothic Revival ruin of the Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island, now visible only from a distance. In Italy, the Ospedale Psichiatrico di Volterra grew from a medieval hospice into a sprawling complex, while Severalls Hospital in Essex treated patients for more than a century using methods that ranged from electroshock to lobotomy. Rockhaven Sanitarium in California offered a gentler approach for women, yet its empty cottages now evoke a sense of time standing still. Whether exploring the overgrown pathways of Letchworth Village or walking the silent corridors of Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, visitors encounter buildings that witnessed decades of human struggle and transformation.
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