I arrived as a freshman on the University of Connecticut’s campus in the rolling hills of the Storrs section of Mansfield CT in September of 1984. Not long after that I learned of the other campus in Mansfield, 3 miles away, the Mansfield Training School run by the state’s Department of Mental Retardation. Ironically, set in a more rustic landscape and made up of scores of marvelously designed buildings, it is the MTS that seemed much grander. It is in fact today listed on the National Registry of Historic Places recognizing its architecture and engineering.
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CT/Tolland/districts.html
I learned some time later of the lawsuit challenging the state’s care of its mentally retarded residents in institutions, specifically the care provided at the Mansfield Training School. Those lawsuits lead ultimately to the complete closure of this facility in 1993.
I have often had the opportunity to walk on the MTS campus, and have done so captivated by historic atmosphere that prevails there. I have done so with thoughts of those who had lived there, and have also attempted to research some of that history. The internet is full of information containing references to the MTS and the treatment provided there. Founded and built to provide treatment in the 19th century institutional manner, it was just a matter of time until our society matured and gained the knowledge to better care for the developmentally disabled. I truly cannot do justice to this subject, but found two articles which I feel very closely reflect my opinions and knowledge of it.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_4_61/ai_76800153
http://www.arict.org/page.asp?ID=377
Over the past couple weeks I have taken my camera to the Mansfield Training School in an attempt to capture it as it stands today. The core group of buildings still stands, trapped between historic significance and strained state budgets. As a result, it appears that they have been left in neglect. Space is used for storage of items from the state and its sister campus across town. There has been refurbishment and new construction of building around this center of campus. The MTS is now the home of some of the facilities operations for UConn, a minimum security prison and a number of community group homes run for the care of the developmentally disabled. My focus though was on the state and images presented by the large institutional structures, the broken windows, locked doors, crumbling mortar, falling bricks, the copper and cast iron fixtures. I wanted to see the little bits of the campus that tell the story of the whole. Among the decay I often found beauty. The patterns of vines claiming the facades, the mosaic of chipped paint on a fire hydrant, the twisted rusted railings all have become something new and unique from their pasts.
Many of you have seen the images I have posted from in the gallery from my exploration of the MTS. I thank you all for your kind comments, and welcome your critiques. I have pursued this project as a learning experience and feel pretty good that as a result of my efforts I have grown in my hobby. I will post some more images in the next couple days to fill this album, but feel free to browse what I have posted to date.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/663
In doing my research I also have found that I am not the only person poking around this campus. There are many open doors and broken windows in these buildings. I found the work of another photographer who has crossed threshold of these doors, past the line that I feel is trespassing, and has posted pictures from the inside of some of these buildings.
http://www.livejournal.com/community/rural_ruin/260286.html
I stopped at the store today to buy some peas for my son. I ran in, grabbed two bags with the Jolly Green Giant on them and headed to the register. I realized immediately that the young man who asked me if I wanted a paper or plastic bag was developmentally disabled. I then became aware that there also were a number of counselors escorting there clients around the store helping them do the shopping for their homes. I couldn’t help to think that if this was during the height of the Mansfield Training School my bagger and his peers would be living a structured life with little contact in the community in which they lived. As I walked out, when he smiled and wished me a good day, I knew he was in a much better place. I smiled back, and said “Thank you, you too.”
http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/CT/Tolland/districts.html
I learned some time later of the lawsuit challenging the state’s care of its mentally retarded residents in institutions, specifically the care provided at the Mansfield Training School. Those lawsuits lead ultimately to the complete closure of this facility in 1993.
I have often had the opportunity to walk on the MTS campus, and have done so captivated by historic atmosphere that prevails there. I have done so with thoughts of those who had lived there, and have also attempted to research some of that history. The internet is full of information containing references to the MTS and the treatment provided there. Founded and built to provide treatment in the 19th century institutional manner, it was just a matter of time until our society matured and gained the knowledge to better care for the developmentally disabled. I truly cannot do justice to this subject, but found two articles which I feel very closely reflect my opinions and knowledge of it.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1374/is_4_61/ai_76800153
http://www.arict.org/page.asp?ID=377
Over the past couple weeks I have taken my camera to the Mansfield Training School in an attempt to capture it as it stands today. The core group of buildings still stands, trapped between historic significance and strained state budgets. As a result, it appears that they have been left in neglect. Space is used for storage of items from the state and its sister campus across town. There has been refurbishment and new construction of building around this center of campus. The MTS is now the home of some of the facilities operations for UConn, a minimum security prison and a number of community group homes run for the care of the developmentally disabled. My focus though was on the state and images presented by the large institutional structures, the broken windows, locked doors, crumbling mortar, falling bricks, the copper and cast iron fixtures. I wanted to see the little bits of the campus that tell the story of the whole. Among the decay I often found beauty. The patterns of vines claiming the facades, the mosaic of chipped paint on a fire hydrant, the twisted rusted railings all have become something new and unique from their pasts.
Many of you have seen the images I have posted from in the gallery from my exploration of the MTS. I thank you all for your kind comments, and welcome your critiques. I have pursued this project as a learning experience and feel pretty good that as a result of my efforts I have grown in my hobby. I will post some more images in the next couple days to fill this album, but feel free to browse what I have posted to date.
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showgallery.php/cat/663
In doing my research I also have found that I am not the only person poking around this campus. There are many open doors and broken windows in these buildings. I found the work of another photographer who has crossed threshold of these doors, past the line that I feel is trespassing, and has posted pictures from the inside of some of these buildings.
http://www.livejournal.com/community/rural_ruin/260286.html
I stopped at the store today to buy some peas for my son. I ran in, grabbed two bags with the Jolly Green Giant on them and headed to the register. I realized immediately that the young man who asked me if I wanted a paper or plastic bag was developmentally disabled. I then became aware that there also were a number of counselors escorting there clients around the store helping them do the shopping for their homes. I couldn’t help to think that if this was during the height of the Mansfield Training School my bagger and his peers would be living a structured life with little contact in the community in which they lived. As I walked out, when he smiled and wished me a good day, I knew he was in a much better place. I smiled back, and said “Thank you, you too.”
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R
Roman
Guest
Rover,
thanks for those pics & links - I work with mentally challenged (or whatever the PC term in English is at the moment
) people myself, and am also studying pedagogoics at the Univ. of Vienna, so this is of non-photographic interest to me... I'm kinda busy right now, but will definitely have a look at those links on the
weekend.
Roman
thanks for those pics & links - I work with mentally challenged (or whatever the PC term in English is at the moment
) people myself, and am also studying pedagogoics at the Univ. of Vienna, so this is of non-photographic interest to me... I'm kinda busy right now, but will definitely have a look at those links on the weekend.
Roman