Pennhurst Building and Site Conditions

P E N N H U R S T B U I L D I N G & S I T E C O N D I T I O N S , M A Y 2 0 0 9

P E N N H U R S T M E M O R I A L & P R E S E R V A T I O N A L L I A N C E



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PENNHURST STATE SCHOOL AND HOSPITAL CAMPUS

Supplemental Information

Site and Building Condition Pictorial Report Including a 1993 Land Re-Use Study for the

Federation of Northern Chester County Communities funded by a Chester County Planning Grant.

Compiled by Nathaniel C. Guest on behalf of the PM&PA Submitted to

The Community Design Collaborative May 2009

WWW.PRESERVEPENNHURST.ORG



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C O N T E N T S

Note: The reader would do well to refer to the Pennhurst Land Use Feasibility Study in conjunction with Sections I-III of these supplementary materials. As numbered within the Pennhurst Land Use Feasibility Study Document itself, pages 19-22 and 58-75 will prove most useful Note: This supplemental packet covers only the lower campus; The upper campus, known as the female colony, includes Keystone, Capital, Buchanon, and Audubon Halls. The reader may also wish to consult the following websites for additional photographs:

I Site Maps II. Aerial Photographs III. Inventory of Buildings IV. Attachments A. Pennhurst Center Land Use Feasibility Study (Selections), July 1993. B. Re-Use Study Maps C. Additional Materials

http://www.opacity.us/site30_pennhurst_state_school.htm

http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/pennhurst_buildings.htm



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I . S I T E M A P S

Pennhurst State School and Hospital (a.k.a. Pennhurst Center) Site



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II. AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS (HISTORICAL)

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Pennhurst Campus See Detail Map Next Page



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Notice former railroad bridge, no longer in use, in lower right of photograph. It connects Pennhurst, just to the upper left of the photograph, via the Schuylkill River Trail, to the Royersford Train Station. The Royersford Station is a stop on SEPTA’s proposed R-6 rail line extension. Below, historic image for comparison.



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III. INVENTORY OF BUILDINGS

Site Overview



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Excerpted from 1993 Pennhurst Land Use Feasibility Study

B U I L D I N G I N V E N T O R Y G E N E R A L N O T E S , C O N T I N U E D .



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Excerpted from 1993 Pennhurst Land Use Feasibility Study

Update: General issues All buildings suffer from varying degrees of vandalism which was done primarily it seems to steal copper and other valuable metals. Items removed often include gutters and downspouting, electrical wire, and door hard-ware. Most window glass has been broken. The roofs of most buildings are suffering; some, such as that on the Administration Building, are in relatively good condition. The roof on Whitman, however, has fallen in entirely.



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T H E C A M P U S

Looking west along Commonwealth Drive in this historical photograph, we see Mayflower in the foreground with Administration to the right and Limerick in the distance. Notice the traffic circle, a feature of Commonwealth Drive from Pennhurst’s early days. Notice also the lamp standards, a feature of Commonwealth Drive at least until the 1960s. The circle and lighting should be considered character-defining features.

Pennhurst’s two main quadrangles should also be considered character-defining features. The “cottage system” employed at Pennhurst is displayed to its full extent in this image of a world created separate and apart from free society. Residents were responsible for maintaining the plantings—and all the other aspects of the institution’s operation.



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Six stone pillars marked Penn-hurst’s boundaries with the out-side world. Each survives, one on either side of each of the three access roads. Stone walls of similar material and construction line Common-wealth Drive and surround much of campus. The larger sections of the wall demark the historical location of ornate lamps.



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Photographs taken in May 2009 show the clearing and burning the current owner is doing in and among buildings.



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Tunnels between buildings.. Base-ment, Tinicum (below).



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This building is a two story brick, concrete and steel structure containing approximately 29,128 square feet of space. Administration has fire damage to 2 rooms; cupola has had portions of its copper clad-ding removed. Some water damage in lobby. Mar-ble wainscoating has been smashed. Balustrade will need to be replicated in some sections. Cupola was iconic symbol of Pennhurst, used as baseball team logo. Depression-era Works Progress Administra-tion tile mosaics on the south façade, the Lives of the Slaves, were recently vandalized. It is thought the art work is a commentary on the forced peonage of Pennhurst’s residents. Working patients literally built the institution and, outnumbering paid employ-ees, ran all aspects of live at Pennhurst.

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING



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Note: Roof is steel truss.



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WPA Tile Mosaic, Rear of Administration , Before and After Vandalism



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WPA Tile Mosaic, Rear of Administration , Before and After Vandalism



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South Façade, Admini-stration. Photo taken just prior to theft of copper from lower portion of tower.

North Façade, May 2009. Developer has cleared off brush from site.



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Interior, Conference Room, Administration Building



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Interior, second floor office door.



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Main entry doors, Administration Building. Twenty-four poppy flowers animate the portal. The poppy was a common symbol for death, redemption, and resurrection at the time of this building’s construction. They Pennhurst poppy is the logo for the Pennhurst Memorial and Preservation Alliance.



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Historical photograph of Administration and, to the left, Mayflower. T he Pennhurst campus was lavishly planted with speci-men trees and ornamental plantings, all tended to by the residents. Many of the special trees remain. Holly and magnolia trees seen in early photographs of Administration remain to this day.

Administration was the focal point of campus, roughly at its geographic center. At left, the administrative staff posedsfor their photograph. At right, the baseball team of 1925 poses for their team photograph on Administra-tion’s stairs. Notice the base of the lamp standards. Ornate lighting fixtures illuminated Commonwealth Drive and one base remains, hidden from the scrappers.

The flagpole and ter-raced fields in front the Administration building overlook the Schuylkill River and are character-defining features of the campus.



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Historical photograph, south façade of Admini-stration from quadran-gle. At right is Phila-delphia Hall. Just left of Philadelphia, appear-ing between it and Ad-ministration, is May-flower. The ventilation cupolas were removed sometime before the mid-1960s.

Detail, cupola, prior to vandalism.



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ASSEMBLY BUILDING

This building is a two-story brick, concrete, and steel structure. The second floor was sealed off due to fire regulations before the building was abandoned. The first floor is a 900-seat audito-rium and is air-conditioned. Some water damage throughout, particularly to the basement. Second floor hallways are lit with elaborate skylights.



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Assembly Building, Second Floor



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BLACKSMITH SHOP



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BOILER PLANT (HEATING PLANT)

This roughly 12,000 square-foot facility provided heat for all Pennhurst buildings via a system of underground tunnels. The plant is along the former Schuylkill Division of the Pennsylvania Rail-road, now the Schuylkill River Trail. It was used until recently by the Veterans Administration, which is housed in what was for-merly Pennhurst’s Horizon Hall. All machinery is in-tact in this facility; coal remains in the bun-kers and the ramp where railroad hoppers were unloaded is still in place.



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This building is a three story brick, concrete and steel structure. Devon had a few series of small fires. Some windows are missing. The basement is in good condition, generally. Roof appears to be in good condition. The largest and newest of the lower campus buildings. The basement plan is directly below; other floor plans as marked.

DEVON HALL



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This building is a two story brick, con-crete and steel structure. Roof damage is the primary issue affecting condi-tion. The kitchens had been used more recently by the Veterans Ad-ministration. A later flat-roofed addi-tion seen above has its stucco sin peel-ing away. First floor plan to the left. Basement plan below. Dietary also includes Nobel and Franklin Halls, which are sometimes listed separately

DIETARY

FRANKLIN HALL

NOBEL HALL



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Interior, Dietary. Top: 1920s; Above left, 1970s. Immediately above, kitchens. Left, officers dining areas.



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Entrance to Dietary from quadrangle.

At left, the entrance to Dietary looking toward the Franklin Hall wing. Administration is directly be-hind the photographer to the north. The photographer is standing on the above grade walkways linking the principal campus structures. Below each walkway is an underground tunnel for passage between the buildings in inclement weather. The labyrinth of tunnels, paralleled by steam lines from the central heating plant, were notoriously creepy and have become the fascina-tion of a generation of urban explorers. The Franklin Hall portion of the Dietary complex is below. Franklin was stricken with a small fire in Winter 2007. The Fire Department tore the win-dows out and put holes in the roof in a small por-tion of the building.



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HERSHEY HALL



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HOSPITAL (WHITMAN/WILSON)



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This building consists of Wings A, B, C and D of the original building and is a three story brick, concrete and steel structure. Wing C does not meet current Life Safety Code requirements. The addition is a one story brick, concrete and steel structure and contains Wings E and F. These wings have baseboard electric heat.

The Hospital contains ap-proximately 86,600 square feet of space. The building is in poor condition. Main entrance from roadside has an unstable wood floor with both the 2nd and 1st floor



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Above, historical photograph. At right and below, interior.



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INDUSTRY HALL



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LAUNDRY BUILDING



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LIMERICK HALL

This building is a three story brick, concrete and steel structure to the west of Administration along Commonwealth Drive.



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Interior, attic level, Limerick Hall.



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MAYFLOWER HALL



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PENN HALL

This building is a two story brick concrete, and steel structure with exposed basement. This building was originally employee hous-ing and consists of 34,200 square feet of space. Decent condition.



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Tile mosaic on Philadelphia Hall.



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QUAKER HALL



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ROCKWELL HALL



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This building is a two story brick, concrete and steel structure. Exterior brickwork is falling from building, expos-ing cinder block walls underneath.

STORES/MAINTENANCE BUILDING



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TINICUM HALL

Tinicum Hall, with Union Hall in the background.



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UNION HALL



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VINCENNES HALL



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FARM BUILDINGS

CONTRIBUTINH BUILDINGS NOT INCLUDED IN SALE TO DEVELOPER



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GREENHOUSES

As with all of the insti-tutions activities, resi-dents were primarily responsible for the cultivation of food and flora. These green-houses produces food for the institution and cultivated flowers and ornamental plantings for Pennhurst’s lush gardens. Large reservoirs—including a giant cov-ered reservoir, are adjacent to the green-houses, but are not pictured here.



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DOCTOR’S RESIDENCE



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SUPERINTENDENT’S RESIDENCE

This building is a two story frame and stucco structure containing approximately 3,460 square feet of space.



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Pennhurst Building and Site Conditions

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