Library of Congress / Assignment 6

To continue my quest for historical photographs of Athens State Hospital, I tried the same search on the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Online Catalog: "Athens State Hospital."  At first, I was somewhat surprised to get no results.  Next, I tried "Athens Asylum," which yielded one unrelated result for the US Naval Asylum.  Then I got it.  The Library of Congress is a federal resource, so surely its collection will include photos of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, the only federally owned hospital for the insane.

Sure enough, "St. Elizabeths Hospital" gave me 23 results.  Mostly abandoned, St. Elizabeth's holds much of the same allure as Athens and many others.  Once again, I was primarily looking for interior photographs.  Most of the results focused on a single building: the cow barn, Hagan Hall, B Building, C Building, etc.  Each result had a number of black and white exterior and interior photos and other documents describing the physical characteristics of the building.  What is different about these photos is that they were clearly taken when the buildings were in operation.  Judging by interior design and the cars parked outside, I would say the photos were taken in the 1970s.

I am satisfied with the results.  The focus of this collection is clearly architectural; the goal of the photos is to capture the buildings and nothing else.  This does not mean that a viewer cannot have an emotional reaction, but when compared to the work of most urban explorers, I get the impression that these photographs are devoid of bias one way or another over the building's condition or what took place inside.

My only criticism is that the About This Item tab includes no information about the subject being photographed.  I understand that the point is to describe the collection; however, I would have appreciated a little background on each building, especially since I have not been able to find such information elsewhere.  For example, what was B Building for?  Who or what occupied Hagan Hall?  Also, I found it interesting that every result said "Documentation compiled after 1933."  In my opinion, it would be much more helpful to include exactly when the photos were taken, if known.  I also think it's important to note that the Web site points out that this catalog is not exhaustive.  The Prints & Photographs Division has more than 14 million items.  This is certainly a collection that should be visited repeatedly simply to see what has been added lately.