Morons are planning to turn the Sanatorium of death into a 5 star hotel, think the state should buy it and turn it into a land mark... they did all kinds of **** in that place.. cut people lungs out and pump water into them while in 10 below weather in the snow and **** ...

63,000 people was taken down the Death tunnel.

this is in Kentucky......

http://farm2.static.flickr....57924_a6d6c9044e.jpg

See a lot of Ghost Hunters, Ghost Adventure shows on that place.It definately needs to stay a piece of history....not some dumbass hotel.

I love history. Anymore info on the sanitarium? (Sung to Metallica. )

quote Originally posted by jeffdean42: 63,000 people was taken down the Death tunnel. http://farm2.static.flickr....57924_a6d6c9044e.jpg

They estimate during it's entire existence just over 8000 patients died max.

The tunnel was just a supplies cable car. Docs decided to send the dead patients on a strapped gurney to the hearse so as not to alarm and down the spirits of the patients.

According to the web site for the hospital (therealwaverlyhills) they did TB treatment there. As TB was not as well understood back then, their "treatments" were not intended to be "Dr. Death" or some such nonsense, but were a good faith effort to treat the ailment with what was availeble at the time.

It should be preserved, but I do understand the hopsital wishing to have to transform to be a hotel-- its to help them preserve the place for future generations.

Preservation costs money.

redrum redrum

hell, id pay EXTRA to stay there if it were a hotel. "ghosts" and "spirits" can blow me, im a non-believer. superstition, be it related to something true or not, only slows you down xD

Trust me, these folks (the owners) will never get Waverly converted into a hotel. I very much doubt it at any rate.

I'm in the same "ghost hunting" business (not that I much want to be or even believe in such things) .

They have done some work, to their credit, but the income needed to convert it into a hotel would be in the tens, possibly hundreds of millions. No amount of ghost hunts at $100 per head eight months a year is going to provide that level of financing. They'd need BIG money. We are working on National Historic Monument status for our building which will allow us to get BIG money grants (we hope, Getty Foundation, etc.). Our budget to restore a 29 room mansion is at the minimum 12 million. Waverly is soooooo much bigger.

[This message has been edited by tutnkmn (edited 06-03-2010).]

The History of the Waverly Hills Sanatorium
http://www.therealwaverlyhills.com/history.htm

Back before the sanatorium was ever thought of, the land was purchased by Major Thomas H. Hays in 1883. Major Hays needed a school for his daughters to go to, so he started a one room school house down on pages lane and hired a woman whose name was Lizzie Lee Harris as the teacher. Miss Harris loved her tiny school nestling against the hillside, and remembered her fondness for Scott's Waverley novels, so she named her little school house "Waverley School." Major Hays liked the peaceful sounding name so he named his property "Waverley Hill" and the Board of Tuberculosis Hospital kept the name when they bought the land and opened the sanatorium.

The Waverly Hills Sanatorium began with a two-story frame building, with a hipped roof and half timbering. Construction on this building began in 1908, and it opened on July 26, 1910. This building was only designed to safely accommodate 40-50 tuberculosis patients. Tuberculosis was a very serious disease back before antibiotics were discovered. People who were afflicted with tuberculosis had to be isolated from the general public and placed in an area where they could rest, stay calm, and have plenty of fresh air. Sanatoriums were built on high hills surrounded by peaceful woods to create a serene atmosphere to help the patients recover.

Tuberculosis was reaching epidemic proportions among the public in Pleasure Ridge Park, Kentucky. The little TB clinic was being filled with over 140 people, and it was becoming very obvious that a much larger hospital would have to be built.

The massive collegiate gothic style sanatorium that you see in the 1926 photo to the left still stands on Waverly Hill today. This sanatorium could accommodate at least 400 patients. It was considered to be one of the most modern and well equipped facilities when it opened. Construction of this sanatorium began in March of 1924. It opened on October 17, 1926 to administer patients. Waverly functioned as a tuberculosis hospital until 1961. After antibiotics were invented, it was closed down to be quarantined and renovated to be opened again in 1962 as WoodHaven Medical Services. The facility remained a geriatrics center until 1980, when it was closed by the state.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

It's a beatiful building that could be renovated with enough money but, I agree that most likely isn't going to happen.
As far as a tribute or memorial to those that died there, it was a hospital, not a death camp.

I'd have no issue with this facility being turned into a five star hotel and if they do some how come up with the cash to accomplish it, if I could afford it, I'd stay there.

Ron

[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 06-03-2010).]

Anybody else ever see this movie?? "Death Tunnel" I thought it was a pretty good one, got a bit cheesy at times but overall it was good.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418627/

quote Originally posted by fastblack: Anybody else ever see this movie?? "Death Tunnel" I thought it was a pretty good one, got a bit cheesy at times but overall it was good. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0418627/

yup. kinda nice how they tied it all together with some real history.

aaahhh - yes - the good 'ol days. people were so much more polite

quote Originally posted by htexans1: According to the web site for the hospital (therealwaverlyhills) they did TB treatment there. As TB was not as well understood back then, their "treatments" were not intended to be "Dr. Death" or some such nonsense, but were a good faith effort to treat the ailment with what was availeble at the time. It should be preserved, but I do understand the hopsital wishing to have to transform to be a hotel-- its to help them preserve the place for future generations. Preservation costs money.

So does survival. Besides its not the buildings fault.. I also say make it profitable. Sure, restore some of the rooms as a tribute to those that are gone, and the rest turn them into hotel rooms.

I want the room that used to be the mourge.....or maybe the crematorium !!!

I would certainly go there and stay. My wife is really into all that type of stuff, and it interests me as well, just not to the point it interests her. But anyway, a night or two there would be a blast for her. She could borrow some of her friends ghost hunting equipment, and just wander the halls.

The closest we have here is the Crescent in Eureka Springs.
http://www.crescent-hotel.com/ghosts/index.html

She is hounding me to go there for a night, but I think it's just a tourist trap.

Brad

quote Originally posted by faaaaq: hell, id pay EXTRA to stay there if it were a hotel. "ghosts" and "spirits" can blow me, im a non-believer. superstition, be it related to something true or not, only slows you down xD

If you don't believe, why would you pay extra?


A side note. My fiance and I stayed at a place that was on some ghost show as one of the most haunted places or some crap. I don't believe either, but she wanted to go. It was a bed and breakfast and I enjoyed our stay there very much.

They closed down the state run sanatoriums. So now the insane who don't come from rich families are homeless. That is "progressive".

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: They closed down the state run sanatoriums. So now the insane who don't come from rich families are homeless. That is "progressive".

We went thru that here recently too. 2 were kept on. Somel 'privatized' ( then later closed ) and several closed outright " send them to group homes ".

I hear 80% of the patients displaced died in the first year.

quote Originally posted by Doug85GT: They closed down the state run sanatoriums. So now the insane who don't come from rich families are homeless. That is "progressive".

and are you saying you are FOR state run mental health facilities?

quote Originally posted by Pyrthian: and are you saying you are FOR state run mental health facilities?

Given what happened to the mentally ill when they shut down, yes I am.

Is it better that the mentally ill are now wandering the streets homeless? I don't think so.

WOW I think that place would be cool! but man is it huge! Is it something the economy needs right now? Look at the trouble casino hotels and hotels on main drags are having bringing in clientel! Humm I'm maybe do it once though!..

This is the before photos of what used to be 100yr old city hospital here in St Louis that was turned into really nice high end condos..
http://www.builtstlouis.net/cityhospital-main.html
Sorry, But I'd be rather freaked out to actually live in an old hospital, visit for a few days is one thing.. to live there night after night... not so much!

If you care to have a looksee at what they have done to the place.. here are some Remax listings of The Gregorian
http://www.mlsfinder.com/mo...-9863b64e3644&npp=10

I say they make it into a huge multi level Go cart race track.

quote Originally posted by pokeyfiero: I say they make it into a huge multi level Go cart race track.

Night time of course and the drivers have to use night vision....now that would be fun.


Back on topic:

I'd stay in the hotel if it became one.

quote Originally posted by ls3mach: If you don't believe, why would you pay extra? A side note. My fiance and I stayed at a place that was on some ghost show as one of the most haunted places or some crap. I don't believe either, but she wanted to go. It was a bed and breakfast and I enjoyed our stay there very much.

just because it would be cool. lol

quote Originally posted by jeffdean42: they did all kinds of **** in that place.. cut people lungs out and pump water into them while in 10 below weather in the snow and **** ... 63,000 people was taken down the Death tunnel.

You made it seem like it was an evil place run by evil, mad scientists.

Tuberculosis was and still is a very serious infection that is highly contagious. Prior to antibiotics, people had to be sent away to the equivalent of leper colonies in order to protect the public. So "sanitariums" were built and were a common thing. My medical school I attended was in a former, converted tb sanitarium.

They desperately tried to help people. Since the tuberculosis bacteria likes a lot of oxygen, the most common place pockets of infection would set up would be in the lungs. So they would try to deprive the bacteria of oxygen, which, since it is sitting in the lung, is pretty difficult to do. They did what they could. They would intentionally collapse a lung to render it unable to get oxygen in it, which rendered the tb bacteria unable to get oxygen. They weren't trying to hurt the person. They were trying to kill the infection.

Another way was to pump water in, which would drive oxygen out. They would lower the person's temperature to lower their metabolism and therefore their oxygen demand, since they would obviously be getting less oxygen with water in the lung.


However, since those infections were rarely treated successfully, the patients would gradually be "consumed" by the bacteria, losing a lot of weight in the long, slow march to death.

Hence, a common OLD name for tuberculosis is CONSUMPTION.


But don't try to portray this as some dark, evil, human torture and experimentation place.

Instead, be thankful for the advances of modern medicine as this kind of thing was only happening less than 100 years ago.