Abandoned Aged Care Buildings
Abandoned aged care buildings often turn out to be spooky explores. I have noticed when exploring these kinds of derelict sites, similar to when I’m inside an abandoned mental asylum or hospital, the atmosphere differs from that of, say, an abandoned school.
I’m not superstitious, quite the opposite. But try standing inside the bedroom of an abandoned aged care facility such as Regis or Alexandra, and you’ll feel the hairs standing up on your arms immediately. Perhaps it’s the fact that many people would have inevitably passed away in these buildings, and their spirits remain. But like I said, I don’t believe in ghosts (yet) so I’m unsure as to why it feels so different.
Another aspect of abandoned aged care buildings is you will often find documents left behind such as former resident’s identification papers, diaries belonging to workers and residents, medical records, financial records, and more. FYI, it is illegal for personal documents such as these to be left behind in derelict sites.
For example, when I visited the Alexandra Guild House (Ireland) back in 2014, I was shocked to find a huge pile of documents consisting of family photographs, letters written or received by the former residents, birth certificates, bank statements and diaries belonging to some of the nurses.
Other interesting and slightly morbid things you will find in abandoned aged care facilities are old equipment, such as wheelchairs and medical devices. But be warned, it can get pretty scary when exploring at night time – everything is spookier in the dark, especially when you’re walking down a pitch-black hallway, and you bump into a wheelchair sitting in the middle of the corridor.
Abandoned Regis Aged Care Facility in Perth, WA
The abandoned Regis Aged Care Facility in Perth, is situated in a remarkably interesting location. Dating back to 1905, the large site, bordered by Smyth/Monash/Karella and William Streets, was first acquired by the Salvation Army. Over the next century, it grew into an entire village of buildings that chopped and changed over time, which consisted of an orphanage, correctional facility, school, dementia hospital, residential cottages, and of course, an aged care facility. The abandoned area that I explored and photographed, was the trio of Wyvern Units, which was part of the Regis Hollywood Senior Citizen’s Village. At the other end of the site, facing Monash St, Regis is currently operating an active aged care facility. After exploring this vast area and the units themselves, I did some research online and discovered Regis is currently under major investigations for neglect, abuse and assault allegations raised by resident family members and a group of interns who worked there for a brief period of time recently. The History of the Regis Hollywood Senior Village 905 – 1918: The Salvation Army began negotiations to acquire the land bordered by Smyth/Monash/Karella and William Streets, for the construction of a Prison Gate Farm to house men who had
The Abandoned Alexandra Guild House, Dublin (Ireland)
The Alexandra Guild House nursing home was established in 1954 and was used as an aged care retirement home for elderly women. In 2007, it merged with Cowper Care and the residents were moved to different premises. Before doing so, the staff left a bunch of documents behind in one of the rooms. The only reason I knew this, is because when I climbed through the window to get into this property, I landed on a huge, soft pile of something. At first, I thought it was a pile of pigeon poop like I experienced at the historic Boland’s Mill, but no, this time it was a pile of very important documents belonging to former patients. The pile of documents consisted of family photographs, letters written or received by the women, birth certificates and diaries belonging to some of the nurses. There was enough documents there for someone to obtain false identities and have access to unsuspecting peoples’ bank accounts. I ended up contacting the new premises to make them aware of what they had left behind and returned the documents to them within a week. Enjoy the photography slideshow below and don’t forget to follow Abandoned World Photography for regular
