City on the Hill - Harrisburg State Hospital

01/25/2026

Demolition progress as of Jan 25, 2026

-Willow Oak is gone. Now they are working on the foundation.
-Demolition of Eaton will start any day now.
-Windows have been removed from Hilltop
-Decorative window stone work has been removed from Hillcrest.
-Ground work and leveling is still going on.

The campus is closed to the public and any trespassers will be prosecuted. Capital Police and PA State Police are patrolling the grounds.

01/11/2026

A new full length building video is live on my YouTube channel!

The building for female Dangerous and Destructive patients was completed in 1907 and would eventually come to be known as Cherrywood. Unlike other patient bu...

01/10/2026

Demo progress as of Jan 9, 2026
-The 1980s datacenter expansion of Willow Oak is gone.
-Interior demolition is happening again in Eaton.
-Interior work continues in Hilltop and Hillcrest.

The campus is closed to the public and any trespassers will be prosecuted. Capital Police and PA State Police are patrolling the grounds.

01/09/2026

The datacenter is gone.

01/03/2026

Built in 1958 and named after superintendent Hamblen Eaton, Eaton Building #54 stands three stories tall and has a simple and somewhat plain design. It's most noticeable and unique feature are the day room sections that extend out from the front of the building on either side of the entrance. On the exterior, the day rooms are covered in green tile work that was commonly seen on building constructed in the late 1950s.

12/30/2025

Congrats to the DHS and South Mountain Restoration Center for making this list!

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that Newsweek has ranked a Pennsylvania-based nursing home as one of the best in America. According to DH…

12/30/2025

There is some great architecture on this campus that is now in danger. Another campus, same story. Unnecessary demolition.

🚨EMERGENCY DEMOLITION ALERT🚨
13 historic buildings at the St. Elizabeths campus in Washington D.C. are in immediate danger of demolition via emergency order. While this thankfully does not include the Kirkbride itself, these are original buildings of the hospital that add to the history and character of this campus. They had been marked for preservation in the original plans for the site.

Preservation Works is strongly against this demolition, and urges the proper procedures to be followed. Homeland Security cites the need to demolish these buildings due to security concerns on the campus. This already secure, federal campus is in danger of demolition which would constitute a major loss of historical resources for the site.

We need your help to submit public comments against this proposed demolition to all of the historic preservation emails on the GSA link in the comments!

The period for public comment ends tomorrow December 31st! Links to news articles, and the email will also be available in the comments section.

12/30/2025

Some additional photos from my visit last Saturday. You can always find all my photos on Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasp94/albums

The campus is closed to the public and any trespassers will be prosecuted. Capital Police and PA State Police are patrolling the grounds.

12/27/2025

Demo progress as of Dec 27, 2025

-The original 1900 Willow Oak building is gone.
-The 1980s datacenter expansion is being demolished.
-Demolition of Eaton will start very soon, probably January.
-Interior work continues in Hilltop and Hillcrest.
-The land around the Chapel continues to be graded and leveled.

The campus is closed to the public and any trespassers will be prosecuted. Capital Police and PA State Police are patrolling the grounds.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas!

12/15/2025

-The original 1900 Willow Oak building is pretty much gone. Just a small corner of the male side remains, along with the 1980s data center and new entrance.-...

12/14/2025

Demo progress as of Dec 13, 2025

-The original 1900 Willow Oak building is pretty much gone. Just a small corner of the male side remains along with the 1980s data center and new entrance.
-A fence has been put up around the Gatehouse and two doctor homes at the bottom of the hill.
-Interior work continues in Hilltop and Hillcrest.
-The land around the Chapel has been cleaned up and the remaining sections of tunnel are gone.

The campus is closed to the public and any trespassers will be prosecuted. Capital Police and PA State Police are patrolling the grounds.