City on the Hill - Harrisburg State Hospital

10/17/2025

So much change in just one year.

10/15/2025

Check out these great 1960s era photos that were sent to me by Lynn Jackson. Lynn's father was Dr Renato H Salva a Psychiatrist. You can see Dixmont Cottage in the background of several photos and part of one of the Convelesctent ward buildings.

10/13/2025

I get asked a lot for a map or drawing of where the new lab buildings will be in reference to the old hospital buildings. I still do not have anything official that I can share. But I did make something myself using Google Maps, an early mock-up drawing, and Photoshop. To the best of my knowledge, this is still basically what the new campus will look like.

10/12/2025

It's that time of the week when I must deliver the bad news.

Demolition and stabilization progress as of Oct 12, 2025.

Cedarcrest is gone. The foundations of the kitchen and Green are pretty much gone. The Married Employee Home is waiting to be demolished. Eaton is waiting to be demolished. Interior work is still under way in Hilltop, Hillcrest, and Willow Oak.

Please remember that the campus is closed to the public and any trespassing will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The land and remaining buildings belong to the demo company, and they do not mess around. Capital Police and PA State Police are now involved and patrolling the grounds due to continued issues with trespassing and theft.

The Administration Building, Chapel, and both cottage buildings ARE BEING SAVED by the state. They will sit for a few years while the labs are built, and then they will be renovated and restored. That is, if we can save them from the people that continue to break into them. PLEASE help us protect these remaining buildings. If you see anything suspicious, call the police. There is no water, no power, and no roads anymore, if any of these building we are trying to save catches on fire it will be a quick and total loss. I am pleading with everyone. PLEASE LEAVE THESE BUILDINGS ALONE. They will come to live once again, but only if we give the state the time it needs to do so.

10/09/2025

This piece of HSH is going to a good home! A friend and fellow architecture buff bought the famous windows iron work from Green Building that was installed for the movie Girl, Interrupted.
If anyone else buys anything from Olde Good Things that came from the hospital, feel free to send me a picture if you want to share it here.

10/09/2025

10/08/2025

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

Exploring the Harrisburg State Hospital Chapel.Completed in 1913, but it did not formally open until February 15, 1914. The Chapel is 90 feet in length and 6...

10/06/2025

https://youtu.be/It6rQYA5tfk

Demolition and stabilization progress as of Oct 5, 2025.Cedarcrest is about half demolished. The foundation of the kitchen and Green and being dug out. It lo...

10/05/2025

10/05/2025

IMPORTANT CAMPUS UPDATE

Please remember that the campus is completely closed to the public and any trespassing will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The land and remaining buildings belong to the demo company, and they do not mess around. Capital Police and PA State Police are now involved and patrolling the grounds due to continued issues with trespassing and theft.

The Administration Building, Chapel, and both cottage buildings ARE BEING SAVED by the state. They will sit for a few years while the labs are built, and then they will be renovated and restored. That is, if we can save them from the people that continue to break into them.

The state has put your taxpayer money into stabilizing and weather proofing these four buildings we are saving. They put a new roof on the Chapel, and those white covers you see on the windows are not regular old plywood. That is a special material that is meant to allow a building to sit with no air conditioning and still maintain proper ventilation with solar-powered fans and small vents so that mold does not grow. People are destroying these expensive special panels, and they are being replaced with regular plywood, which defeats the whole purpose.

PLEASE help us protect these remaining buildings. If you see anything suspicious, call the police right away. There is no water, no power, and no roads anymore. If any of these building we are trying to save catch on fire, it will be a quick and total loss. I am pleading with everyone. PLEASE LEAVE THESE BUILDINGS ALONE! They will come to life once again, but only if we give the state the time it needs to do so.

**EDIT: For those asking about the Greenbelt, it is open. Only the campus up on the hill is closed. The Greenbelt is still fully open to the public, and so is the ball field down on Cameron Street.

10/05/2025

Demolition and stabilization progress as of Oct 5, 2025.

Cedarcrest is about half demolished. The foundation of the kitchen and Green and being dug out. It looks like the Married Employee Home is done being gutted and will probably be next to be demolished. It also looks like interior work might be done in Eaton. Interior work is well under way in Hilltop and Hillcrest. If I had to put a bet on it, I would say that everything will be gone by Christmas.

Please remember that the campus is closed to the public and any trespassing will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. The land and remaining buildings belong to the demo company, and they do not mess around. Capital Police and PA State Police are now involved and patrolling the grounds due to continued issues with trespassing and theft.

The Administration Building, Chapel, and both cottage buildings ARE BEING SAVED by the state. They will sit for a few years while the labs are built, and then they will be renovated and restored. That is, if we can save them from the people that continue to break into them. PLEASE help us protect these remaining buildings. If you see anything suspicious, call the police. There is no water, no power, and no roads anymore, if any of these building we are trying to save catches on fire it will be a quick and total loss. I am pleading with everyone. PLEASE LEAVE THESE BUILDINGS ALONE. They will come to live once again, but only if we give the state the time it needs to do so.

10/04/2025

It is hard to say with 100% certainty that this exit sign is one of two that were in the basement of the Dome Building. But it would be a heck of a coincidence if it is not.