Seaside Sanatorium

Waterford, CT  2015

This is the building seen from afar in yesterday's blog post.  This building, and the others on this 32-acre parcel of land along the coast line were originally built for the treatment of children with tuberculosis and was the first in the country to do so.  Before the days of antibiotics, it was thought that tuberculosis was best treated with fresh air, and sunshine.  This piece of land afforded both in ample supplies.  The building was designed by the famous architect Cass Gilbert, who also designed the Woolworth Tower in New York as well as the Supreme Court Building.  The facility opened in 1936 and later became a Geriatric center and then a facility for the mentally retarded when drug treatments made such sanatoriums obsolete.  It was closed in 1996 and has been subjected to nature and vandals since then.  Currently there are plans to convert this piece of property into a new state park.  I hope the buildings can be saved.