We’d like to show the side of the world you don’t normally see on television.
An Old VA Hospital
An Old VA Hospital
My recent expedition to the old Manteno State Hospital complex has piqued an interest I have had in facilities like this that began with the encounter working in the basement of a Joliet Illinois penitentiary annex building a few years back that housed sex offenders and culminated in my coverage of a west suburban retirement home demolition (Plymouth Pace)
in early 08...I have heard rumors over the years and have even been privy to first hand accounts related to me by sources of impeccable credulity and even former employees of a now closed Veterans Hospital in my zone being the site of numerous inexplicable occurrences and even full blown apparitions sightings before and after the doors were padlocked and basement windows boarded...
Reports from a current employee of ongoing ”paranormal” activity in the operational parts of the hospital and rapidly multiplying satellite specially treatment centers concentric to this University Medical Center are also abundant, but I have elected to forgo pursuing this sort of ongoing covert investigation as the reality of doing so respectfully seem to be severally limiting and unconscionably inappropriate...it’s amazing how many out there in the paranormal community espouse this unwavering “respect for the dead” but reverence for the living or ailing be it in an institutionalized environment or private residence seems to fall by the wayside...
I would prefer not name this location as it may jeopardize future investigations and the full access I am negotiating, but it probably wont be hard to deduce by description and appearance to those indigenous to or familiar with he Chicagoland area ...A day earlier the new VA Hospital was visited by the President so I suspect my exploration of the old building would have been greatly impeded by the stepped up security measures ... As usual my air of confident officiousness and a largely innocuous agenda in conjunction with the added advantage of my usual solo sojourning methodology presented me with unchallenged admittance...
World War One Veterans are really the first to exhibit the PTSD related syndrome
known as Shell Shock ...that and a myriad of other obvious complications compounded by exposure to viruses, poison gas, exhaustion from “heavy packing” and hastened redeployment to the front lines following combat related injuries, illness, battle fatigue and psychoneurotic afflictions denied many soldiers the benefit of proper rehabilitation which often ultimately left them bereft of full long term recovery...
Korea and Viet Nam presented many of the same syndromes and a plethora of new maladies related to Agent Orange and diseases specific to that geography of the Asian Theater ...
The long term effects of Persian Gulf Veterans is inconclusive but dessert Storm Vets have had inordinately high incidents of children with birth defects aside from the typical stress related disorders and the garden variety of somatic ailments inherent to all wars since these case studies began following The Civil War...
And while I would prefer delve into another broad sweeping indictment of the treatment many post war Vets received, be it by populist public opposition to foreign policy or the governmentally institutionalized post war care many were provided that was often less than commensurate to the sacrifices they made...many were left to vacillate in the abnegated dignity of neglect, poor funding, mis management, public apathy, and even abuse suffered by those rendered disabled as a result of combat related injuries or left indigent by the debilitation of the
associated PTSDs and the efficacy of treatment they received...
How prevalent any of this was (if at all) at this particular facility is not widely known
or reported as it was one of the original of the post WWII medical centers for veterans
originally funded by private grants and the philanthropic generosity of a local lumber magnate (another hint) before incorporation by the VA and relocation to a nearby new construct that was also an adjunct to a prestigious medical school...Being one of the original VA prototypes and being subjected to the auspicious eye of the conjoined Medical School, the staff there was probably held to a much higher standard as this was considered a high visibly model (like the new one) so perhaps the inequities inherent to these institutions were not as severe as some of the others of the day but the visage of the forgotten, wheelchair bound Vet that I encountered that afternoon erased the preconceived timestamp from the plight of the post war disabled Veteran as exclusively a social problem from the past...
My first impression as of this site as I made way west from the inconspicuously innocent anonymity of visitors parking was that by all outward appearances it seemed unobtrusive even in it’s starkly contrasting obsolescence as the physicians rolled by in their new cars to the gated parking that awaited them ahead ...the over growth obscured the majority of the mid level windows but a few of the top story ones remained visible and the brooding that radiated from those seemed concentrated as a result of the others being bordered or blocked by trees, shrubbery and vines....
The North Gate looked locked (wasn’t)so I opted for a trek along the gate south that runs adjacent to what I’m assuming is a still occupied VA assisted living or convalescent center ...A backhoe was parked on the front lawn of the hospital along a flatbed truck that likely delivered it, but the dismay I felt from the threat of pending demolition was quickly abated by a long trench with dirt steeped on both sides at the rear of the occupied quarters ...
The old hospital building sits quietly within a fenced off, but unlocked western perimeter
of hospital campus...the derelict institute’s east side is cordoned off from the bustling,
modern, medical metro-plex monstrosity by a rusted, unlocked fence that separates the still occupied residential quarters opposite the old abandoned VA hospital...somewhere within this card accessed gate that looks to have stopped working long ago and is propped open during the day then padlocked at night, is or was a mental health center, but like the main VA hospital building; it too has been shuffled around in favor of a new or remodeled facility...
Rounding the front of the probably convalescent residency, with my cell phone affixed to my ear as it often is, I walked up on a lone elderly, wheelchair confined gentleman languishing sedately at the side of the building seemingly oblivious to my approach...as I ambled by he gazed up at me with an apoplectic expression that I met with a smile and a nod, then he jerked erect in the chair and reacted violently as if in a phobic aversion my very presence until he screamed “ Get that cell phone away from me, it’s bad for me! ” I promptly obliged him with a stunned “sorry” and terminated my call by folding the phone closed and stuffing it my front pocket as I simultaneously made a wide bypassing arc around him...he continued to notify my of his disapproval even as I rounded corner out of his range of sight ...I reminded myself that this man may have fearlessly put his life on the line to ensure my freedom to use that phone at my discretion and to ultimately post the photos I was about to take on the internet...of course the appointment of an internet regulating czar may restrict this in some capacity for all of us soon, thus making the uncompromising bravery and selfless sacrifices like the wheelchair bound man I just encountered to upheld the ideals of liberty an effort fought in vain...
The trench entrenched construction workers paid little attention to me and seemed more focused on cajoling one of crew to intimate details of the preceding evening’s date that was apparently the culmination of weeks of nervous anticipation for this ordinarily hapless and unconfident co worker...aside from a few ephemeral inquisitive glances as I passed within their immediate range of vision, I was left to my photographic endeavors unhindered...
The broken concrete slabs symmetrically stacked and backhoe-at-the-ready parked nearby reinvigorated my recent assertions and ruminations that construction work and the accompanying incursions of the vibrational changes that powers tools and heavy equipment will often interject into active yet docile (haunted) location...the front walk was partially obstructed by the flatbed trailer but the front steps were still traversable save for the irrepressible weeds that wield the supernatural seeming force to split and crack even the most fortified of concrete surfaces...the front double doors were chained and padlocked through the dual handles as the manually released striker was probably in the past triggered from a security guard within to grant entry and departure and was stripped and salvaged for parts to be used elsewhere ...
Even with the trenching activities and the traffic flow on the other side of the fence facing the rear of the main hospital complex, there seemed to be this static bubble of antiquity within the immediate cynosure of the building’s red bricked walls...the ivy vines, trees and thicket of thatch that buffered the east side along the fence was not as fecund on the west side but a wall that backed an L shaped tunneled walkway and led from the rear of the building to a satellite structure that no longer exists or perhaps the old parking lot, created a cordoned off quadrant
of quietude from the chaos of activity that buzzed like hornets from all directions ...
The insular respite that the ivied west wall and the brick backed and partially overgrown roof of the in-ground passageway provided was especially poignant and almost peaceful...that is until I found a few open basement windows where the plywood was removed and the stale, cold, damp air wafted from below in that all to familiar assault on the senses that never fails to compromise my composure before the tell tale tingle from my solar plexus even has a chance to disconcert me legitimately...
Before I waded too deeply into the facade of isolation that this concave of concealment provided, I was jolted back to the here-and-now by the rotary reverberation of helicopter blades descending to the landing pad on the other side of the fence that I captured shots of landing...the “Life Star” logo on the side became visible through the zoom lens and as soon as the runners hit the floor of the landing pad, the side doors were already opening to meet the ambulance that was pulling up to shuttle the patient the short distance to the ER across the parking lot...I did fact manage to capture a closeup video from the landing pad of the chopper taking off on the way back to the car and the You Tube link is below ...
The invasion of reality into my fantastical mind set was short lived as I returned to the west end
and proceeded to cup my hands over several of the basement windows that were not covered or missing and noticed many in the northeast portion of the basement were retrofitted with interior chain link style security bars ...most of the east facing windows were covered by plastic sheeting that looked like a concerted effort was made to block visibility from the hospital parking lot or perhaps discourage the voyeuristic viewing of the living from within...it seems as though painstaking efforts were made to opaque or obscure the windows that were not boarded or overgrown and as the boarded windows presented a considerable eye sore as opposed to the visibility of empty rooms from the perspective of the hospital or VA residence, I am of the opinion that simple aesthetics or added fortification against trespassers was not the only motive for this based on the illogic of the scheme ...this summation was further solidified by the confided reports of apparitions glaring from the second and third story windows at overnight hospital employees showing up for third shift duty sending them fleeing in terror LOL (sorry) ...
I decided to hop over the wall and roof of the in-round corridor in order to circumnavigate the backtracking required to reach the north (rear) of the building where the loading dock and service elevator is located...the crumbling walls of the recessed, narrow driveway created a horse blinder effect limiting my vision to the ivy strangled north face wall as I descended towards the open gate of the service elevator ...a stagnant pool of mud-rust tinted black of interminable depth reflected the cloud cover above in it’s darkened stillness but after a couple of obligatory photos a splash rippled the 10 X 10 square box of rainwater from an object that must have dropped from above ...considering that the bottom of the lift platform was visible as stopped at the ground floor and just a few feet over my head at loading dock level, the source of this object left me baffled especially since I made no physical contact with the frame or base of the gate for the 2-3
photos I took...as I turned to commence with my ascent up the ramp, I glimpsed a figure in the second story window that seemed to retreat beyond the periphery of my sight as soon as I reacted to spotting it ...I rounded back at ground level to see if I could detect any activity within but could see none ...
The tunnel was partially accessible and I bristled when I was able to peer into the barred basement windows and noticed the darting shadows the plastic covered windows created when the traffic along the fence diffused the light filtering in danced over the still present stainless steel examination tables visible within...at the far end of the tunnel; the shrill shriek of noncompliant, rusted metal hinges and the accompanying scrape of a heavy metallic door on loose rubble echoed through the pervasive narrow darkness that was only dotted by the intermittent small, square, eye level windows along the sides ...a shriek that almost matched the bizarre noise my cell phone made in my front pocket as I backed toward the door and hastened yet another stiff legged retreat through the rusted gate ...
Life Star Liftoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGxgGh-xNXY
Here are the unedited (compressed) photos my 6/2010 visit (90 total)....b
http://s843.photobucket.com/albums/zz355/BestOnEarth/An%20Old%20VA%...
My recent expedition to the old Manteno State Hospital complex has piqued an interest I have had in facilities like this that began with the encounter working in the basement of a Joliet Illinois penitentiary annex building a few years back that housed sex offenders and culminated in my coverage of a west suburban retirement home demolition (Plymouth Pace)
in early 08...I have heard rumors over the years and have even been privy to first hand accounts related to me by sources of impeccable credulity and even former employees of a now closed Veterans Hospital in my zone being the site of numerous inexplicable occurrences and even full blown apparitions sightings before and after the doors were padlocked and basement windows boarded...
Reports from a current employee of ongoing ”paranormal” activity in the operational parts of the hospital and rapidly multiplying satellite specially treatment centers concentric to this University Medical Center are also abundant, but I have elected to forgo pursuing this sort of ongoing covert investigation as the reality of doing so respectfully seem to be severally limiting and unconscionably inappropriate...it’s amazing how many out there in the paranormal community espouse this unwavering “respect for the dead” but reverence for the living or ailing be it in an institutionalized environment or private residence seems to fall by the wayside...
I would prefer not name this location as it may jeopardize future investigations and the full access I am negotiating, but it probably wont be hard to deduce by description and appearance to those indigenous to or familiar with he Chicagoland area ...A day earlier the new VA Hospital was visited by the President so I suspect my exploration of the old building would have been greatly impeded by the stepped up security measures ... As usual my air of confident officiousness and a largely innocuous agenda in conjunction with the added advantage of my usual solo sojourning methodology presented me with unchallenged admittance...
World War One Veterans are really the first to exhibit the PTSD related syndrome
known as Shell Shock ...that and a myriad of other obvious complications compounded by exposure to viruses, poison gas, exhaustion from “heavy packing” and hastened redeployment to the front lines following combat related injuries, illness, battle fatigue and psychoneurotic afflictions denied many soldiers the benefit of proper rehabilitation which often ultimately left them bereft of full long term recovery...
Korea and Viet Nam presented many of the same syndromes and a plethora of new maladies related to Agent Orange and diseases specific to that geography of the Asian Theater ...
The long term effects of Persian Gulf Veterans is inconclusive but dessert Storm Vets have had inordinately high incidents of children with birth defects aside from the typical stress related disorders and the garden variety of somatic ailments inherent to all wars since these case studies began following The Civil War...
And while I would prefer delve into another broad sweeping indictment of the treatment many post war Vets received, be it by populist public opposition to foreign policy or the governmentally institutionalized post war care many were provided that was often less than commensurate to the sacrifices they made...many were left to vacillate in the abnegated dignity of neglect, poor funding, mis management, public apathy, and even abuse suffered by those rendered disabled as a result of combat related injuries or left indigent by the debilitation of the
associated PTSDs and the efficacy of treatment they received...
How prevalent any of this was (if at all) at this particular facility is not widely known
or reported as it was one of the original of the post WWII medical centers for veterans
originally funded by private grants and the philanthropic generosity of a local lumber magnate (another hint) before incorporation by the VA and relocation to a nearby new construct that was also an adjunct to a prestigious medical school...Being one of the original VA prototypes and being subjected to the auspicious eye of the conjoined Medical School, the staff there was probably held to a much higher standard as this was considered a high visibly model (like the new one) so perhaps the inequities inherent to these institutions were not as severe as some of the others of the day but the visage of the forgotten, wheelchair bound Vet that I encountered that afternoon erased the preconceived timestamp from the plight of the post war disabled Veteran as exclusively a social problem from the past...
My first impression as of this site as I made way west from the inconspicuously innocent anonymity of visitors parking was that by all outward appearances it seemed unobtrusive even in it’s starkly contrasting obsolescence as the physicians rolled by in their new cars to the gated parking that awaited them ahead ...the over growth obscured the majority of the mid level windows but a few of the top story ones remained visible and the brooding that radiated from those seemed concentrated as a result of the others being bordered or blocked by trees, shrubbery and vines....
The North Gate looked locked (wasn’t)so I opted for a trek along the gate south that runs adjacent to what I’m assuming is a still occupied VA assisted living or convalescent center ...A backhoe was parked on the front lawn of the hospital along a flatbed truck that likely delivered it, but the dismay I felt from the threat of pending demolition was quickly abated by a long trench with dirt steeped on both sides at the rear of the occupied quarters ...
The old hospital building sits quietly within a fenced off, but unlocked western perimeter
of hospital campus...the derelict institute’s east side is cordoned off from the bustling,
modern, medical metro-plex monstrosity by a rusted, unlocked fence that separates the still occupied residential quarters opposite the old abandoned VA hospital...somewhere within this card accessed gate that looks to have stopped working long ago and is propped open during the day then padlocked at night, is or was a mental health center, but like the main VA hospital building; it too has been shuffled around in favor of a new or remodeled facility...
Rounding the front of the probably convalescent residency, with my cell phone affixed to my ear as it often is, I walked up on a lone elderly, wheelchair confined gentleman languishing sedately at the side of the building seemingly oblivious to my approach...as I ambled by he gazed up at me with an apoplectic expression that I met with a smile and a nod, then he jerked erect in the chair and reacted violently as if in a phobic aversion my very presence until he screamed “ Get that cell phone away from me, it’s bad for me! ” I promptly obliged him with a stunned “sorry” and terminated my call by folding the phone closed and stuffing it my front pocket as I simultaneously made a wide bypassing arc around him...he continued to notify my of his disapproval even as I rounded corner out of his range of sight ...I reminded myself that this man may have fearlessly put his life on the line to ensure my freedom to use that phone at my discretion and to ultimately post the photos I was about to take on the internet...of course the appointment of an internet regulating czar may restrict this in some capacity for all of us soon, thus making the uncompromising bravery and selfless sacrifices like the wheelchair bound man I just encountered to upheld the ideals of liberty an effort fought in vain...
The trench entrenched construction workers paid little attention to me and seemed more focused on cajoling one of crew to intimate details of the preceding evening’s date that was apparently the culmination of weeks of nervous anticipation for this ordinarily hapless and unconfident co worker...aside from a few ephemeral inquisitive glances as I passed within their immediate range of vision, I was left to my photographic endeavors unhindered...
The broken concrete slabs symmetrically stacked and backhoe-at-the-ready parked nearby reinvigorated my recent assertions and ruminations that construction work and the accompanying incursions of the vibrational changes that powers tools and heavy equipment will often interject into active yet docile (haunted) location...the front walk was partially obstructed by the flatbed trailer but the front steps were still traversable save for the irrepressible weeds that wield the supernatural seeming force to split and crack even the most fortified of concrete surfaces...the front double doors were chained and padlocked through the dual handles as the manually released striker was probably in the past triggered from a security guard within to grant entry and departure and was stripped and salvaged for parts to be used elsewhere ...
Even with the trenching activities and the traffic flow on the other side of the fence facing the rear of the main hospital complex, there seemed to be this static bubble of antiquity within the immediate cynosure of the building’s red bricked walls...the ivy vines, trees and thicket of thatch that buffered the east side along the fence was not as fecund on the west side but a wall that backed an L shaped tunneled walkway and led from the rear of the building to a satellite structure that no longer exists or perhaps the old parking lot, created a cordoned off quadrant
of quietude from the chaos of activity that buzzed like hornets from all directions ...
The insular respite that the ivied west wall and the brick backed and partially overgrown roof of the in-ground passageway provided was especially poignant and almost peaceful...that is until I found a few open basement windows where the plywood was removed and the stale, cold, damp air wafted from below in that all to familiar assault on the senses that never fails to compromise my composure before the tell tale tingle from my solar plexus even has a chance to disconcert me legitimately...
Before I waded too deeply into the facade of isolation that this concave of concealment provided, I was jolted back to the here-and-now by the rotary reverberation of helicopter blades descending to the landing pad on the other side of the fence that I captured shots of landing...the “Life Star” logo on the side became visible through the zoom lens and as soon as the runners hit the floor of the landing pad, the side doors were already opening to meet the ambulance that was pulling up to shuttle the patient the short distance to the ER across the parking lot...I did fact manage to capture a closeup video from the landing pad of the chopper taking off on the way back to the car and the You Tube link is below ...
The invasion of reality into my fantastical mind set was short lived as I returned to the west end
and proceeded to cup my hands over several of the basement windows that were not covered or missing and noticed many in the northeast portion of the basement were retrofitted with interior chain link style security bars ...most of the east facing windows were covered by plastic sheeting that looked like a concerted effort was made to block visibility from the hospital parking lot or perhaps discourage the voyeuristic viewing of the living from within...it seems as though painstaking efforts were made to opaque or obscure the windows that were not boarded or overgrown and as the boarded windows presented a considerable eye sore as opposed to the visibility of empty rooms from the perspective of the hospital or VA residence, I am of the opinion that simple aesthetics or added fortification against trespassers was not the only motive for this based on the illogic of the scheme ...this summation was further solidified by the confided reports of apparitions glaring from the second and third story windows at overnight hospital employees showing up for third shift duty sending them fleeing in terror LOL (sorry) ...
I decided to hop over the wall and roof of the in-round corridor in order to circumnavigate the backtracking required to reach the north (rear) of the building where the loading dock and service elevator is located...the crumbling walls of the recessed, narrow driveway created a horse blinder effect limiting my vision to the ivy strangled north face wall as I descended towards the open gate of the service elevator ...a stagnant pool of mud-rust tinted black of interminable depth reflected the cloud cover above in it’s darkened stillness but after a couple of obligatory photos a splash rippled the 10 X 10 square box of rainwater from an object that must have dropped from above ...considering that the bottom of the lift platform was visible as stopped at the ground floor and just a few feet over my head at loading dock level, the source of this object left me baffled especially since I made no physical contact with the frame or base of the gate for the 2-3
photos I took...as I turned to commence with my ascent up the ramp, I glimpsed a figure in the second story window that seemed to retreat beyond the periphery of my sight as soon as I reacted to spotting it ...I rounded back at ground level to see if I could detect any activity within but could see none ...
The tunnel was partially accessible and I bristled when I was able to peer into the barred basement windows and noticed the darting shadows the plastic covered windows created when the traffic along the fence diffused the light filtering in danced over the still present stainless steel examination tables visible within...at the far end of the tunnel; the shrill shriek of noncompliant, rusted metal hinges and the accompanying scrape of a heavy metallic door on loose rubble echoed through the pervasive narrow darkness that was only dotted by the intermittent small, square, eye level windows along the sides ...a shriek that almost matched the bizarre noise my cell phone made in my front pocket as I backed toward the door and hastened yet another stiff legged retreat through the rusted gate ...
Life Star Liftoff:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGxgGh-xNXY
Here are the unedited (compressed) photos my 6/2010 visit (90 total)....b
http://s843.photobucket.com/albums/zz355/BestOnEarth/An%20Old%20VA%...
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Comment by Barek Halfhand on June 12, 2010 at 9:16am
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