psychiatrical hospital often hold a dark station in the popular resource . Whether it ’s Gotham’sArkham Asylum , Boston’sShutter Island , or Briarcliff Manor inAmerican Horror Story , such institutions ofttimes conjure vivid figure of speech of genial and physical suffering .
But as our apprehension of mental wellness changes , so does our treatment , hopefully toward methods that are more humanist . In the 1970s and 1980s , deinstitutionalizationsaw many intervention centers ( infamous and otherwise ) shut their doors . For some psychiatrical hospital , that meant destruction — while for others , it meant a sometimes - surprising 2nd spirit . Here are some fresh uses for previous hospitals :
1. A LUXURY HOTEL
pilot_michavia Flickr //CC BY - NC 2.0
TheWelcome Hotel Residenzschlossin Bamberg , Germany , sits right on the River Regnitz near the center of townspeople . The Catholic Church built it as a hospital in 1787 , and in 1990 it reopen as a luxury hotel with 184 room and suite , two restaurants , and a spa . Reviewers onTripAdvisorpraise its Baroque elegance and love story , although one also call it “ tranquil as a grave . ”
2. A MUSEUM AND CONFERENCE CENTER
Jean - Pierre Dalbéravia Flickr //CC BY 2.0
The island ofSan Servololies in the lagoon of Venice , less than 10 minutes from the famed St. Mark ’s Square . Although it was in the beginning conceptualize as an psychiatric hospital for noblemen , between 1725 and 1978 more than200,000 peopleof all genders and category came to live at a psychiatrical hospital instal there . Today , San Servolo is home to theMuseum of Madnessand a conference center capable of holding up to 400 meeter in a room . If you do n’t want to take the piddle taxi to the mainland , there ’s also a 300 - bed hotel on the island .
3. THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY HEADQUARTERS
Tomf688viaWikimedia//CC BY - SA 2.5
Washington , D.C.’sSt . Elizabeths Hospitalhas been home to several would - be presidential assassin , the poet Ezra Pound , and a serial killer nickname the “ Shotgun Stalker , ” but its next residents are charged with maintaining national certificate . The Department of Homeland Security announced in 2007 that it would consolidate its main office at the construction , but preservation concern , budget issues and the small number of stay patient role at the installation ( including longtime resident and President Reagan shooterJohn Hinckley ) havecreated government boondogglesimpressive even for the capital .
4. ARTS AND CULTURAL CENTERS
Fergus Falls State Hospital by Mr. Moment viaWikimedia//CC BY 2.0
Many genial health institutions were designed to be soothing and attractive , feature that would subsequently make them perfect arts and ethnic centers . Fergus Falls , Minnesota , has make aresident creative person programat itsFergus Falls State Hospital . Traverse City , Michigan , hasrepurposedthe Northern Michigan Asylum as amixed - usance developmentand ethnic hubas well as a parkoutside of town . The Ridges , a famous ( and notorious ) former institution in Athens , Ohio , is now home to several university offices , as well as anart museumandarts center . Australia’sFremantle Arts Centrebegan as the Fremantle Lunatic Asylum and Invalid Depot , later on the Asylum for the Criminally Insane .
5. TECHNOLOGY COMPANY OFFICES
Wayne Hsiehvia Flickr //CC BY - NC - SA 2.0
TheAgnews Insane Asylumopened in Santa Clara , California , in 1889 , and within a few years it had grown expectant enough to ask its own geartrain post nearby . It became infamous after the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 , when more than 100 patient role died after construction collapsed . The infirmary shifted nidus from genial health to developmental disability by the seventies , and in 1997 , the now - defunct Sun Microsystems announced it would reformulate the site for its collective and R&D central office . The site is nowowned by Oracle .
6. HOUSING
Wellcome TrustviaWikimedia//CC BY 4.0
While some may be in question about the aspect of living in a former genial hospital , developer see the sites as meridian real estate . In England , the town of Ipswichapproved planslast year to convert the former St. Clement ’s Hospital into residences . Large share of the hospital will be demolished to make room for modern apartment and amenities , but the principal building will be used to create 48 new housing units .
For anyone touch about potential psychic rest , there are“energy consultants”like the one developer hire in the Greenwich Village of Semington to bring in out “ bad energy ” from the oldSt . George ’s Hospital . For others , however , the creep cistron is a feature : In 2012 , theWall Street Journalwrote upthe former Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum in north London , home to association football players , actresses and teen heartthrob One Direction . ( Not without some rebranding , though — the mansion house are now called Princess Park Manor . ) Even the once - horrifying infirmary where pioneering journalist Nellie Bly got herself committed for herexposéTen Days in a Madhousehas been turned intoapartments .
7. A UNIVERSITY
Camarillo State Mental Hospital outside Los Angeles used to loom large in the metropolis ’s artistic imagination . Both the 1948 thrillerThe Snake Pitand boy bandNSYNCused the site as film fix . Rather than disassemble the live base when the infirmary closed in 1997 , then - Gov. Pete Wilson establishedCalifornia State University Channel Islands . Despite its name , the school is not on an island ; predictably , some are ready to claim the campusis haunted .
