Sunday, November 11, 2012

Metropolitan State

Metropolitan State Hospital, located in Waltham, Massachusetts, was built in 1927.  It was once known as the state's largest and modern facility of it's type.  The Gaebler Children's Center for mentally ill youths was also on the grounds.  Now, most the 330 acres has been converted into apartment buildings, but the administration building (The Dr. William F. McLaughlin Building) and the hospital's cemetery are all that remain of the original layout.  When we were there, we weren't able to make it to the cemetery, but the next time we head up there, I'll be getting plenty of pictures for you all! 
Metro was shut down in the early 1990's, another victim of the country's reformation of mental institutions, however in my opinion, it would have been only a matter of time, with or without the reformation.  In 1978, inmate Melvin W. Wilson murdered and dismembered another inmate; a woman named Anne Marie Davee.  Wilson was caught with seven of Davee's teeth.  The macabre trophy was what would bring Wilson's demise.  The murder was slightly investigated, but nothing was really done about it until State Senator Jack Backman came into office.
Backman ordered a more thorough investigation, and when one was done, at least three burial spots and other tell tale signs of the murder were found.  The Davee murder case was added to 19 more reports of neglect in the hospital.  After this, the hospital was on the fast track for closing.  It shut down officially in January of 1992, and unlike most of the other state hospitals of New England, not all of the land was sold to apartment developers.
While a lot of the land is now modern apartments, a great deal is part of land protected from further development.  The administration building is next to the wooded area accessible by the public, and while its posted that entering is forbidden, you're more than welcome to walk around and take a good look.  The corner stone of the building is stolen (a fact that lead me to sticking my head inside to see...) But the rest of the building is quite well kept.  There are trails near the grounds connecting to the Western Greenway; a link to Rock Meadow, conservation land found in the neighboring town of Belmont.  According to plans, as I've not been able to confirm it, the rest of the land is going to be connected to the Middlesex County Hospital.  
Mum and I will be heading back to Metropolitan to check on the cemetery, and I have to admit that while Danvers is still my ultimate favorite, I've developed quite the soft spot for this old institution.  

Stay spooky!
Six

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