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King’s Park Psychiatric Center on Long Island, New York (photograph via flickr)
The Kings Park Psychiatric Center is a former state-run psychiatric hospital on c. 400 acres of land, in Kings Park, New York. It was established in 1885.
To relieve New York City’s growing mentally ill population, Kings County set forth to build an institution where patients could be treated far away from the hectic city life. As patient populations grew throughout the early part of the 20th century, the hospital itself continued to grow, and by the late 1930s the state began to build upward instead of outward. During this time period, the famous 13-story Building 93 was built. Designed by state architect William E. Haugaard the building, often dubbed “the most famous asylum building on Long Island,” was used as an infirmary for the facility’s geriatric patients, as well as for patients with chronic physical ailments.
Kings Park was one of the first places on Long Island to use experimental treatments - such as electric shock treatment and lobotomies - on its patients. After World War II Kings Park and the other Long Island asylums would see their patient populations soar. In 1954, the patient census at Kings Park topped 9,303, but would begin a steady decline afterwards.
As medication made it possible for patients to live normal lives outside of a mental institution, the need for large facilities like Kings Park diminished, and the patient population began to drop. By the early 1990s the Kings Park Psychiatric Center was operating as a ghost of its former self, with many buildings being shut down or reduced in usage (including the massive Building 93, only the first few floors of the building were in use).
In the early 1990s, with patient populations at increasingly low levels, the New York State Office of Mental Health (formerly the Department of Mental Hygiene) began to plan for the closure of Kings Park as well as the nearby Central Islip Psychiatric Center. Any remaining patients from both facilities were to be transferred to Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, which was at one time the world’s largest hospital, or be discharged. In the fall of 1996, the plans were implemented, and the few remaining patients from Kings Park and Central Islip were transferred to Pilgrim, ending Kings Park’s 111-year run.
After the closing, part of the hospital facility was re-opened with the opening of Nissequogue River State Park in 1999. But most of it lies abandoned. Since closing its doors in 1996, Kings Park has developed a major issue with trespassing. This problem is two-fold, as both enthusiasts of the paranormal and teenage vandals visit the grounds. Additonally, the area has developed a reputation on Long Island as a haunted location. Vandalism has increased dramatically in recent years, with the interior of Building 93 being the focus of heavy graffiti. Since entering the abandoned buildings is illegal, Suffolk County Police Department has a heavy presence in the area.
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