South Avenue at Elmwood Avenue

About the Location

Where South Avenue meets Elmwood Avenue is a large block of property that is occupied by Rochester Psychiatric Center, The Al Sigl Center Wolk Campus, Rochester Science Park, the John L. Norris Addiction Treatment Center and a number of other smaller industrial buildings and healthcare facilities. A notable feature about this property is the number of large abandoned buildings it contains, the most prominent being the 17-story Terrence Building (a former part of the Rochester State Hospital) and the sprawling Walters Building (part of the former Psychiatric Hospital). For more information about the active parts of the campus, please visit their respective articles above, otherwise, continue reading for information about the many abandoned buildings you can find on this property.

The Abandoned Psychiatric Hospital

The abandoned psychiatric hospital consists of several buildings on the campus, including the massive Terrence Building and Walters Building. The buildings are well-secured, but while security patrols the campus regularly, they will not stop you from walking around the buildings or taking pictures. They are mostly there to protect the active parts of the campus and to prevent people from trespassing onto "sensitive" areas, like the Forensic Center, Norris Rehab Center, or the Landmark Industries buildings. These buildings are located near the center of the campus and are painted a creamy-white. If you are caught taking pictures of or intruding upon these facilities, you will be removed from the property, so it is best to avoid them completely.

On the northernmost side of the campus, down Elmwood Avenue, you will see the Terrence Building and its adjacent parking lot which is in use by the University of Rochester as auxiliary parking; there is typically a parking officer from U. of R. sitting in a van in the lot. The Science Building is a 17-story office-type building that is well-secured but has some fairly interesting features. On the right side of the main entrance, there is an engraving indicating that the building was once the part of the Rochester Hospital, which seems to have been moved to the new building directly to the west of the Terrence Building.

Towards the southern side of the campus and just south of the Forensic Center is the abandoned Walters Building, which is what seems to have been the original psychiatric center. Like most of the other buildings on campus, it is well secured and entrance would require force. Again, security guards patrol the area but don't mind visitors walking around and looking.

There are several other smaller abandoned and semi-abandoned buildings on the property, including a factory/warehouse of some sort and a large house at 1850 South Ave. One particularly strange feature of the property is the Epileptic Gorilla statue that is located within the Al Sigl Center campus. Be sure to check this out if you have the chance.

A former RIT student, Jennifer Kunz, photographed some of the abandoned RPS buildings. Unfortunately, the pages have been taken down by RIT since her graduation. Some of them are still accessible via the Wayback Machine:

Two images from the power plant: Sink; Office
Introductory page.
An account of Kunz's explorations.
More information about the history of the facility.
There are also several photos of the psychiatric center on her website.

Other Photos of the Campus

External Links

From Almshouse to Asylum: The Early History of Rochester Psychiatric Center
Map of Insane Asylum, Almshouse, & Penitentiary. This map illustrates the original location of the County's facilities for the mentally ill. The notations at the bottom of the map refer to excavations made in 1984 when Highland Park was expanded, described in detail by our Highland Cemetery page.

Comments:

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2008-04-27 11:27:53 so I just found out that the big building is in fact called the "Terrence Building" and not the "Science Building". please ignore the map where it
says "science building"; if I get the chance to I'll try to update that. —TonyFolenta

2008-12-11 12:25:42 The Terrance Building is, by far, the creepiest building I have ever seen. The large transmitter(?) on the top was most assuredly used for mind control experiments and/or disintegrating dead psychos. It should be the setting of the next Silent Hill movie. On a side note, I may have the opportunity to enter this building (and the creepy concrete garage structure to the east of it) as part of an structural investigation. If I get pictures, I will post them. —BatGuano

2008-12-12 19:22:32 South and Elmwood has to be one of the worst intersections in the city at rush hour.

I used to live a few blocks from there, its a shame that building is sitting there out of use. Although some of the older buildings on South in between Elmwood and East Henrietta are pretty cool looking. —JohnJoseph

2009-05-12 18:49:47 It was, as of recently, possible to enter the Terrence building without breaking anything - someone bent up the corner of a chainlink fence covering one boarded-up door (and removed the door). I'm a large guy and I was able to squeeze in. Later inspection has seen this hole closed (padlock + chain holding the hole shut).

Rumor has it that the security here has been seriously stepped up recently as well, though I can't confirm that myself.

By the way, it is incredibly cool inside, and the view from the roof rocks. —macman5151