Early history of the site
BLDG25 stands on land that was a farm owned by the Creed family. A railroad which ran from Long Island City to Bethpage had a stop close to the campus.
In 1870, the New York State Legislature purchased a part of the Creed farm and a parcel of an adjacent National Rifle Association range to house the New York State National Guard. Several international rifle tournaments and technical improvements resulting in longer range bullets resulted in numerous complaints from surrounding residents. As a result the range was abandoned until 1912.
History of the hospital
In 1912, the Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital was opened, with 32 patients, by the Lunacy Commission of New York State, reflecting a trend towards sending the swelling population of urban psychiatric patients to the fresh air of outlying areas. By 1918, BLDG25 own census had swollen to 150, housed in the abandoned National Guard barracks. By 1959, the hospital housed 7,000 inpatients. BLDG25 is described as a crowded, understaffed institution in Susan Sheehan's Is There No Place On Earth For Me? (1982), a biography of a patient pseudonymously called Sylvia Frumkin. Dr. Lauretta Bender, child neuropsychiatrist, has been reported as practicing there in the 1950s and '60s.
The hospital's census had declined by the early 1960s, however, as the introduction of new medications, along with other factors, led to the deinstitutionalization of many psychiatric patients around the world. In 1975, the land in Glen Oaks formerly used to raise food for the hospital was opened to the public as the Queens County Farm Museum. Another part of the campus in Glen Oaks was developed into the Queens Children's Psychiatric Center. In 2004, the remaining part of the campus land in Glen Oaks was developed into the Glen Oaks public school campus, including The Queens High School of Teaching. By 2006, other parts of the campus had been sold and the inpatient census was down to 470.There are several disused buildings on the property, including the long-abandoned Building 25
BLDG25 stands on land that was a farm owned by the Creed family. A railroad which ran from Long Island City to Bethpage had a stop close to the campus.
In 1870, the New York State Legislature purchased a part of the Creed farm and a parcel of an adjacent National Rifle Association range to house the New York State National Guard. Several international rifle tournaments and technical improvements resulting in longer range bullets resulted in numerous complaints from surrounding residents. As a result the range was abandoned until 1912.
History of the hospital
In 1912, the Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital was opened, with 32 patients, by the Lunacy Commission of New York State, reflecting a trend towards sending the swelling population of urban psychiatric patients to the fresh air of outlying areas. By 1918, BLDG25 own census had swollen to 150, housed in the abandoned National Guard barracks. By 1959, the hospital housed 7,000 inpatients. BLDG25 is described as a crowded, understaffed institution in Susan Sheehan's Is There No Place On Earth For Me? (1982), a biography of a patient pseudonymously called Sylvia Frumkin. Dr. Lauretta Bender, child neuropsychiatrist, has been reported as practicing there in the 1950s and '60s.
The hospital's census had declined by the early 1960s, however, as the introduction of new medications, along with other factors, led to the deinstitutionalization of many psychiatric patients around the world. In 1975, the land in Glen Oaks formerly used to raise food for the hospital was opened to the public as the Queens County Farm Museum. Another part of the campus in Glen Oaks was developed into the Queens Children's Psychiatric Center. In 2004, the remaining part of the campus land in Glen Oaks was developed into the Glen Oaks public school campus, including The Queens High School of Teaching. By 2006, other parts of the campus had been sold and the inpatient census was down to 470.There are several disused buildings on the property, including the long-abandoned Building 25
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