Amazing shots of decrepit Building 25, abandoned at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, Queens Village

Image source: Will Ellis

Recently, Untapped Cities published photos from a visit to Building 25 at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village (GMAP), located on the eastern edge of Queens. A decrepit, abandoned structure, it is a place for classic urban archaeology and those fascinated by abandoned urban spaces. That said, it turns out that decades of pigeons have spent time in some of the rooms, evidenced in part by the astonishing piles of bird droppings (which, you can imagine, made the photographer seriously gag upon this discovery).

Still there is an odd sort of beauty to be found in piles of guano, as well as discarded objects, old murals, and old furniture. The photos taken by Will Ellis (originally posted on his blog Abandoned NYC) are striking and fascinating.

We learn in the article that it is one of a collection of buildings on the Creedmoor campus that have been left to simply sit there and do nothing. Creedmoor was built in 1912 in Queens Village as Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital, there as a place to treat, house, and rehabilitate the mentally ill who could not take care of themselves on their own. Fresh air and hard work were prescribed as a remedy thought to help those suffering from illnesses like psychosis and schizophrenia.

At one point the place got overcrowded, patient abuse and neglect were not uncommon, and then in 1984 there was a death of a patient by a staff person in the violent ward.

Creedmoor was seriously downsized as antipsychotic medications became more readily available and deinstitutionalization of the mentally ill was promoted (budget cuts were also part of it). Many of the buildings were eventually sold off, though the campus is still active with a few hundred patients, and outpatient services are also provided.

Definitely check it out – it’s a rare look into a space that made such a difference -positive and negative – in so many people’s lives, many years ago. More photos can be seen on the Abandoned NYC site.

The Abandoned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens [Untapped Cities]
Inside Creedmoor State Hospital’s Building 25 [Abandoned NYC]