Life magazine photo archive

[foz101]

Google are hosting millions of photos from Life magazine. Most are a good size and there is something of absolutely everything.

I came across this whilst on a topical search:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/l?imgurl=ebdc3c174d16a674&q=mental+hospital+source:life&usg=__moMmELM8enRd5kmfBmW7SwkUM3E=&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dmental%2Bhospital%2Bsource:life%26hl% 3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG Looks a rather grand place!
Engraving of New Bedlam (originally Bethlem) mental hospital, the oldest institution of its kind, in More Fields.
Location: More Fields, United Kingdom
Date taken: 1815

Anyone?

[snappel]

I think it's now the Imperial War Museum, isn't it?

[Oxygen Thief]

I think it's now the Imperial War Museum, isn't it?

Kind of. The name has been used on different hospital sites over the centuries. More Fields is in the picture above, and that's where the dodgy stuff happened. From Wikipedia... In the 18th century people used to go to Bedlam to stare at the lunatics. For a penny one could peer into their cells, view the freaks of the "show of Bethlehem" and laugh at their antics, generally of a sexual nature or violent fights. Entry was free on the first Tuesday of the month. Visitors were permitted to bring long sticks with which to poke and enrage the inmates. In 1814, there were 96,000 such visits.

In 1815 it moved to the buildings that are now the Imperial War Museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bethlem_Royal_Hospital

[MAD.MAN]

bethlem as it is now in croydon surrey , is still a secure unit/mental hospital thats very much actiev still also about 1/2 mile from me