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42Central State Hospital e have traveled to some of Indiana%u2019s most for- gotten and forlorn places. Yet, the abandoned Central State Hospital at dusk had a disturbing and haunting desolation unlike any place we%u2019ve ever visited. With a long history, it was founded with noble compassion, yet ended, some felt, with indifference and neglect.Lonely and foreboding, the tract covers over 100 acres just west of Indianapolis%u2019 downtown%u2014and it was a sad sight to see. An iron fence still surrounded part of it, and ugly chain link was being installed elsewhere. On this day, the gate was wide open. As we drove past deserted buildings of various ages, scattered amid acres of untended lawn, we felt like visitors to a lost and alien world.Back in 1848, when the Indiana Hospital for the Insane (as it was originally called), first began its mission, it offered refuge to those afflicted with various disturbing conditions of the mind. Starting with a single brick building, it expanded over the years. Two early additions were a pair of massive residences%u2014for men, and for women. So elaborate was one, that it became known as the Seven Steeples. Later enhancements included a fire house, chapel, medical hospital, bakery, cannery, and bowling alley. As would be expected, as Indiana%u2019s population grew, so did the number of its mentally ill. When this Indianapolis facility could no longer meet the state%u2019s needs, the legislature approved construction of similar facilities in Richmond, Evansville, Logansport, and Madison. Meanwhile, in 1889, the original Indianapolis operation had been renamed Central State Hospital for the Insane. In 1926, it was renamed once again, to the more politically correct Central State Hospital.By the 1970s, some of the once impressive Victorian buildings at Central State had badly deteriorated. Rather than opting for costly updating and restoration, they were demolished and replaced with non-descript, but modernly efficient, flat-roofed, brick-and-glass structures. Despite this, in 1994, the entire hospital was closed due to financial obstacles, allegations of patient abuse, and a desire to treat the mentally ill on an out-patient basis whenever possible. Ultimately, as the bleak, deserted site continued to decline, the City of Indianapolis acquired the property, with an eye toward redevelopment.Parking in front of the deathly still, brick power plant, I waited in our car while John roamed around, photographing the derelict structures that remained. Slowly, time passed, the sky darkened, I called out his name, but heard nothing back. Finally, out of the gloom, I saw his familiar silhouette heading my way. As we drove out, past the guardhouse, then through the main gate, I felt both gratitude, and relief. We were leaving this %u201casylum for the insane%u201d%u2014made sinister by evening shadows.Power Plant, Central State Hospital, c.1889%u2014Indianapolis, Marion Co. (891.01)W