Asylum Bridge
by Lynn Sprowl
Title
Asylum Bridge
Artist
Lynn Sprowl
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Asylum Bridge by Lynn Sprowl
The bridge connected the Kansas town of Osawatome and the State Mental Institution (known as the state insane asylum until 1901)
Patient Treatment:
Doctors still did not understand what caused their patients' behavior. They listed such things as religious excitement, sunstroke, and reading novels as possible causes of mental illness. Additionally, they believed that patients had lost all control over their morals, and strict discipline was necessary to help the patient regain self-control. The asylum provided the restraint a patient could not supply himself. Confining the patient in a straitjacket was one way to do this.
Many doctors considered straitjackets to be a humane form of treatment, far gentler than the chains patients encountered in prisons. The restraint supposedly applied no pressure to the body or limbs and did not cause skin abrasions. Moreover, straitjackets allowed some freedom of movement. Unlike patients anchored to a chair or bed by straps or cuffs, those in a straitjacket could walk. Some doctors even recommended restrained individuals stroll outdoors, thereby reaping the benefits of both control and fresh air. While considered humane by some, straitjackets were frequently misused. Over time, asylums filled with patients and lacked adequate staff to provide proper care. The attendants generally were not trained to work with the mentally ill. Some feared the patients and resorted to restraints to maintain order and calm. Patients might remain in restraints for days. The documented use of straitjackets continued until at least 1956.
This bridge across the Marias des Cygnes river leads to the hospital is known as the Asylum Bridge. It was closed in the 1970s to vehicle traffic and a dispute over who should administer the repair has followed. The design is unique with no other examples of this type of bridge existing. The Asylum Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
It was built during a three month period - October through December, 1905, by Kansas City Bridge Company out of Kansas City, Missouri. Its bid of $4,800 was the lowest of the ten companies bidding. The bin-connected reverse Parker truss structure is 219 feet long and 16.5 feet wide and originally has gas lights at each end.
Uploaded
September 26th, 2015
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Viewed 696 Times - Last Visitor from Wilmington, DE on 03/28/2024 at 11:42 PM
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Comments (1)
Catherine Sherman
This is a very cool, old bridge. I bet it would be really spooky at night, particularly considered its story. Great capture! L/F
Lynn Sprowl replied:
Thank you, Catherine. It is said that it's haunted...and rightly so! very creepy...