Historic Pennhurst

A collection of historical Pennhurst images mostly courtesy of J. Gregory Pirmann, former special assistant to the superintendent at Pennhurst. www.preservepennhurst.com
Spinebelt song, Black August, used with permission from Butch Lloyd from Spinebelt.
Posts by KZbin users in the comments section do not necessarily reflect the views of Preserve Pennhurst/preservepennhurst.com

[@bonesmccoy1]

The children who suffered there deserve to be remembered and by preserving it serves as a reminder of how NO ONE should be treated or forced to live. It is a way to make sure that history will not repeat itself...

[@lynnebraun4845]

My Mom is 87 and she grew up in Philly.She told me that when she was a kid,if you misbehaved the adults would threaten you with "Pennhurst" for punishment!!!She said no one knew what it was but that it was horrible punishment!!!

[@pamelahayes3582]

Pennhurst was indeed a very sad place. I worked there in the early 1970's and it launched a 40 year career in advocating for the rights of people with disabilties. Thanks to Mr. Paul for his respectful work and shame on that horrible group who turned it into a Halloween freak show. At the time Pennhurst was founded, parents of children with such extreme disabilities truly had no other option. Most of the residents there had IQ's so low they were unmeasurable, and they required round the clock care which would have overwhelmed most people at that time. Today, although far from perfect, there are many resources for parents of children with disabilties. The administration at Pennhurst were the true criminals. Staff did what they could to care for up to 40 residents to one staff, requiring them to feed, diaper, clothe and pay an ounce of attention to such a large group by themselves. During this time, the state also used the facility as a type of "holding cell" for young men involved in the juvenile justice system. With its series of underground tunnels, you can imagine what happened between these men and people with no ability to protect themselves. I remember when I was in high school, students would come here on field trips, and, as teenagers are prone to do, would point and laugh at the residents. I am proud to say that my mother was the one who put an end to this by putting her job on the line to ensure that this awful practice would be put to an end.

[@wildhearted2]

Thanks for the historic video. I also think its important to remember the 'past' or we are doomed to repeat them also. Like others have stated here. Historic pictures or video are important as is current video. Thanks so very much. Lets not forget the past of these buildings as well as other hospitals etc that exsist as only memories now. Or as shells still. Some of the people remain or live on... but the memories linger on.

[@MrBrandan1992]

Well just plain interest in this brought me here. Idk why but this stuff really interest me

[@HarryAndLouis]

The most horrible and disturbing things happened here ..

[@conniewagner9306]

My best friend was the night R.N. in charge of all Pennhurst in the 70s. I was there many times in most buildings and what I see now isn't scary..just sad.

[@alovelyjessture]

places like these have to be preserved. otherwise we'll never learn from our mistakes.

[@SPIIIVA]

pennhurst is a mile away from where i live and ive been to the land around it and i get a creepy feeling everytime i go there

[@conniewagner9306]

I've read in an old history book about Indian tribes that Pennhurst was a burial ground at one time.

[@dpaul426]

@sgtswifey05 The band is called Spinebelt, they are a local band from the Harrisburg Pa area. On a hiatus right now because of the drummer having cancer. This isn't totally typical of their music though, they are more of a metal band

[@jimguadagno7479]

I was born and raised in Spring City, Pa. I knew many people that worked there. While there were without a doubt abuses happening most of the staff were good people trying to do the best they could with a bad situation. The overcrowding of Pennhurst caused great hardships for the patients and the staff. Some of my memories are 20 or so Downs syndromes kids all holding hands and walking through downtown Spring City. Because we were stupid kids we thought them retarded. My grandfather owned a hotel and restaurant were he employed many of the downs adults. He not only paid them but also gave food and a room in the hotel for them to live. As I aged and interacted with those my grandfather employed I came to understand they were good people with a minor defect. Somewhere around 74-75 they started to close down wings at Pennhurst, I was told they were giving them bus tickets and sending them to the last known address of their parents or guardians. All the ones that worked at the hotel were gone almost immediately. They were not given any options as to what they wanted to do. It was sad and shocking how that went down. I have many memories and stories about that place, but I assure you it was not a place that tortured (always bad seeds so I can’t say it never happened) but believe me when I tell you there were many good people trying to do the right thing. There is one caveat the medical procedures of the period were horrible/ torture but it was what the doctors knew to do. Not because they were evil.

[@celtickels]

Let them rest. It should be treated as any other burial site. I doubt anyone who had to endure any time there would want to see it glorified. I think most would want to swing a mallet at it.

[@Baltimora1957]

I had a cousin who died at Pennhurst in 1959.

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@jb55101 because it was shoved under the rug by the government and forgotten until some guy made a report to open people's eyes on it.

[@scottiedog1965]

Not having been a survivor, you DON'T know what you would want.

[@crazy7997]

the noise of all those patients reminds me of what the ghost hunter people picks up with their recorders.

[@sgtswifey05]

My husband grew up 60 miles west of Pennhurst . I would like to go tour the grounds of the old Hospital when we go back to visit his family . It's sad at the poor treatment the patients received at that establishment . Btw Epic song . What's the name of it and who is it by ?

[@rasclotify]

I was able to enter an abandoned local asylum in the 90's here in Massachusetts that was established initially in the 1850's. It was deemed government property for a few decades, and even though there was a public dog run that circled the miles of victorian red brick buildings, and a public garden, there were security guards posted that monitored the property there so it was notoriously difficult to gain access to for many years. Eventually the property was sold to make way for condos, and the guards disappeared, awaiting demolition, and one was able to enter without fear of being caught trespassing. What was it like? Beautiful, poignant, overwhelming endless hallways that led to more endless hallways. Collapsed floors, antique fire alarms, tunnels, peeling paint all over, asbestos all over, wood creaks, disheveled equipment, and the overwhelming sense that you were NOT alone. But, it/the spirit or trapped historical energy didn't feel threatening, it felt more like walking through church or temple. You were just aware of the energies there in. I was with two friends, and without discussing it beforehand we barely spoke as we explored as we subconsciously ALL felt we needed to do so in order to be respectful. It was a profound unfamiliar feeling of contrasts. I think this is because there was so much beauty and life energy there that also just felt stifled and lonely, but simultaneously you were in a place that was also decrepit, neglected, "ugly", where all these horrible things happened and you could feel that trapped in the walls and then compared to that contrast of beauty and energy. That space, that feeling, is rarely felt. So for me it was quite cathartic.

[@johnsbibles]

love to go there but I am on state probation. Do the oinkers go there often and patroll the grounds ?

[@Drewsky105]

@jakeman49926 What happened there can't be forgotten. If you tear down that building, many memories bad as they were, will be forgotten. It's a dark part of American History, but it needs to stay.

[@judithann7193]

Wow. Makes the stories real, seeing the beds pushed together. The cafeteria and everyone sitting quietly. The gardens. All idyllic. How real was that?

[@andrewbyrdful]

@flynxfan404 I believe Dr. James Conroy was explaining that to the Ghost Adventures crew. He knows what he's talking about; he worked there, and now he's co-president of the Pennhurst Preservation & Memorial Alliance.

[@Maddy922]

when a hospital is abandoned do people just get up and leave?

[@MinecraftPlanetChan]

i would not want to live in a house that was built on top of a haunted as fuck torture school

[@rileysmama1204]

I am the mother of a special needs child and even *I* would want these buildings to stand as a reminder of past atrocities inflicted on the disabled. It would serve no one to take them down except those that are uncomfortable or squeamish to the abuse that happened there. Just because you tear them down, doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

[@35nine]

I really like this song.

[@hauntedcooncat2367]

Somehow the music just didn't go with the video sorry

[@jimk5447]

Where can i download or find this song at? Ive looked and can t find it anywhere

[@jimk5447]

***** the bands called spiderbait i think

[@jimk5447]

***** the bands called spiderbait i think

[@scottsevinsky]

the band is Spinebelt. Song is Black August.

[@treebeard00]

This video just makes you forget about the abuse that took place at pennhurst, that should not be forgotten.

[@dpaul426]

luminal smoker 🙄 Have you hit your head recently? This doesn’t make anyone forget about anything. It shows the human side to a place that was mostly inhumane. Not all that happened there was bad and evil

[@franke3512]

Epic, Epic song!

[@mvortex1]

Darnit, my house is just out of the shots in these photos.

[@jimk5447]

Its fits the video perfect, very sad place

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@xoxprettyrosesxox because it shows the lack of maturity in the government. because we don't want it to happen again. because abuse should never happen to begin with. not to mention this was a state facility that was not receiving the help and resources needed to take care of the people who resided there, some of them their whole lives. if you were in a place like this, wouldn't you want your living conditions and medical care to be the highest quality available?

[@jasonchristian958]

I explored them buildings many times over... If only the walls could talk of the horror that went on behind them. That was a torture chamber for most patients...

[@LDDavis911]

Excellent presentation & music score. Well done. But I was surprised at your response to jb55101. Granted, the question is not a literary masterpiece, but to call someone an idiot seems rather immature. JMHO

[@meleepinata]

There's always an argument made that societies and systems can be judged by how they treat their most vulnerable and helpless. Letchworth, Willowbrook, and Pennhurst are incredibly important examples of our utter failure and negligence in the west.

[@siriuslyD]

great job on this video, great song choice :)

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@RONKIT1 I hope you're being sarcastic about this. This institution is a monument to what once was. While it's not as well-known as Auschwitz or any of the vets monuments, it is a piece of American history that should not be demolished and forgotten. If I was a survivor from this place, I would not want it to be removed, but to stand as an icon. Kind of like a reverse role model in the sense that it's something to learn from as what not to do.

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@braxtoncomix My own research on mental hospitals brought up "Suffer the Little Children," and then Ghost Adventures did their investigation and I was absolutely floored.

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@rileysmama1204 I'm uncomfortable and squeamish to the abuse that happened there, not only because I was a victim of child abuse myself, but also because it's an absolute shame that this sort of shame ever existed in the first place, but I do want the buildings to stand as a constant reminder of what those people went through living there.

[@NotLost]

Nice slideshow! Doesn't look good for the facility, though. It looks pretty rough in the google satelite photos.

[@freighttrain777]

Great vid, thanks for the reminder!!! Btw, who's the music by?

[@glowing_galaxy]

Spinebelt

[@trlyka]

@deathapproaches789 Did you go to the Pennhurst asylum? How was it?

[@damien7861]

@Tommit9 the haunted house is only in the administration building but it has a line tht goes burt the dietary, philly and a few others,i kno the because i was there last night but i agree it might have been a bad idea due to if the spirits are still lurking they can possiably cuase harm to the ppl.

[@blackmaidenmissa]

@billydalil This is the worst news I think I have ever heard. The place should be preserved, not mocked.

[@krochmerrr]

@jb55101 because some of us weren't alive and a lot of us really enjoy abandoned buildings and creepy ghost things.

[@Zeck180]

I read, that they've made it for Halloween on big hunted house.

[@tashaLuv1]

so sad,I'm sure not every worker was a bad one but some pretty awful things went on there to the least likely ones who could stand up to them & I think the idea was a good one but fell apart along the way & I hope they are doing well now away from there..

[@abyios]

Hell on earth.

[@brandybaker497]

ik alot of ppl will agree but others might wanna argue it....but ive noticed alot of ppl say shit like "we should still have places like this aroind" n the way i see it is hell no we shouldnt cuz the mentally challenged kids that lived there was either beaten or neglected every damn day of there lives n nobody should ever have to go threw that at all like ever....regardless of whether someone is what we consider a normal person or a mentally challenged person they should still be loved the same....like yall should think before u downgrade on ppl n saying the shit u say...like u should think like "ok if i was mentally challenged would i wanna be in this place n get abused n neglected all the time" i bet all ur answers would be "hell no i rather be wit a family who cares n would love u as if u was normal...

[@Tommit9]

Some guy is buying this place and turning it into a "haunted house" for profit. I am not kidding. Now isn't THIS just very dignified to the "children" (and I mention this because even the elderly adults there were called children) who resided in terrible, horrible conditions?

[@richardwilson6121]

What "oldhickory07" does not realize is, THE past dictates the future.

[@jackiemyers3566]

I been to pennhurst a lot of times n I see them wit my own eyes idk u people think I'm crazy well I'm not I had a family member that die in pennhurst a long time ago I miss him a lot I wanna c his ghost in pennhurst n I have been its a special thing to have in life I do cry bc my miss john n I love him I wish I could c him when he was alive But I didn't 🙁 That's the sad part for my life u kno people

[@EXTRAORDINARYz]

Jackie Myers you look like you belong there

[@christinegirljackiemyers4988]

HOS HEARTOFSTEEL who the fuck r u talking to like that u belong there stupid fuck

[@christinegirljackiemyers4988]

HOS HEARTOFSTEEL stupid ugly low life u better watch out how u talk to people like that to me I would have slap the shit out of u the way u talk to me like that u don’t know me I know John he died in hers a long time ago I wish I could take that time back n see my own brother :( I don’t belong in that place nope not me I know my own brother is in haven where he is

[@braxtoncomix]

Thumbs up if Ghost Hunters brought you to your own search!!

[@LilPnutDollMom526]

@jb55101 Just like touring the Eastern State Penn, I wanna learn all about it. I am obessessed that humankind can be so cruel to those they don't fully understand. I am not one to view it as a playground, and the pics I see, it pains me to see so much graffiti. I think someone should open it up, for tours. We can def learn from the past.

[@andrewbyrdful]

@Harryreid51 Wrong. Institutionalizing people with mental and physical disabilities rarely did them any good. After Pennhurst closed, many of the former patients were sent out to live in the community. Many of them have jobs. They act more like people without mental disabilites. They can adapt to their surroundings; when they were in Pennhurst, they got worse. Now that their free, their getting better.

[@smitty229]

@jimk5447 nah some company bought it n its used durnign halloween as a haunted house

[@deathapproaches789]

I'm going there tommorow for the haunted house. I fucking scared as shit

[@danzmitrovich6250]

Welcome to where no one will like to be put at anytime in there life in 1968 i am very happy that they did a 5 day long reporting on pennhurst asylum

[@dallasdiva09able]

Bob really is a backyard huh?

[@danielturner3914]

This song match for pennhurst

[@MrBrandan1992]

Song rocks

[@user-sv4gy6ko5l]

MrBrandan1992 its a band called Spinebelt Song is black August on the throne of the hive album.

[@LilPnutDollMom526]

@billydalil Yes, I know all about all about that. But I mean I want a 365 day type of thing. Not just a seasonal.

[@xoxprettyrosesxox]

why would we want to remeber a place where abuse took place?

[@babeyellow9359]

We should never forget about our history whether its bad or good the only true reason why there is history is so we don't make the same mistakes and to remember the people who solved some of our mistakes such as martin luther king and dwight eisenhoward history is a big part of our lives and I'm pretty sure the spirits from these horrible incidents wouldn't want us to just forget about them and forget about what they went thru to survive some people might say who cares there dead anyways and those people don't understand all the horendous things that happen to them

[@MinecraftPlanetChan]

i saw 'celebrity ghost stories'

[@annettejones1300]

Too bad you didn't show what was really going on ! Good job BUT DELUSIONAL !

[@jb55101]

why is it that people want to go there when it is empty why didnt they go there when them poor kids needed attion they could have volonteer or worked there

[@Kgarcia607]

no taking it away puts all that pain and negativity in the past. Reminding people won't change them if it's in them to do bad things they will...hell look around you or better yet study history. Evil has always been around and I'm afraid will always exsist. Tearing things like this down I think is a great idea I'll even help!!!!!

[@andrewbyrdful]

@dpaul426 I really like this video, along with some of the others you've made. But I don't think jb55101 is an idiot.. Why is it that everybody want's to go there now, but when there were people there, everyone wanted to stay away from it? Well, the answer is this: people thought Pennhurst was safe, and they thought that the "rejects" in there would be hidden away from them. But now that the truth has come out, the thought of an abandoned, possibly haunted place attracts explorers.

[@dpaul426]

@damien7861 there are no spirits. Been there done that at night before it was an attraction. Nothing suspicious except me running around stripping in 20 degree weather.

[@biffy117]

humans need to be reminded that we have to stop fucking up> thats why you keep it around. take it away and your take away the memories.

[@andrewbyrdful]

@SiLlYvLyNnE I want to shake your hand just for saying that.

[@shawnromania9567]

TOO LATE TO PRESERVE. DESTROYED

[@dpaul426]

well apparently you are an idiot, your grammar/spelling speaks for itself. Nice try.

[@damien7861]

@Tommit9 the haunted house is only in the administration building but it has a line tht goes burt the dietary, philly and a few others,i kno the because i was there last night but i agree it might have been a bad idea due to if the spirits are still lurking they can possiably cuase harm to the ppl.