I've been living in Saratoga Springs, NY for a few months now. Of course, I've sniffed out a local, creepy place in that short time. A few towns over from me in Providence, NY remains an old, enormous, brick building called Homestead Asylum. Homestead Asylum sounded fascinating to me when I first heard about it. I mean, who doesn't want to see an abandoned asylum? I soon found out when researching it though, that it was never an asylum.
Homestead Asylum was actually a Tuberculosis Sanitarium from 1914-1960. It's proper name would be Homestead Sanitarium. In 1961 it reopened as the Saratoga County Homestead, which was essentially a nursing home for the elderly. That remained open until 1979 when another nursing home was opened in Ballston Spa, NY, which was a factor to it closing.
How this place got labeled as an asylum, I don't know. Perhaps it's the eerie look it has to it, or the sinister vibe people get when they go near it. Either way, people died here, so there must be some truth to the rumors of it being haunted.
I went there with my husband, but we never went in, as much as I was itching to. There are multiple "no trespassing" and "keep out" signs around the perimeter. The place is also trashed, as you can see in the pictures. Crumbling brick and broken windows adds to the building's haunted demeanor. There's lots of graffiti, the most noteworthy one being a red balloon at the front of it. I'm sure I can give the new "IT" movie credit for that piece of disturbing artwork. The piece did add extra creepiness to it all, and it made the experience all the more unique.
Although there were so many signs telling us to not go in, we found the place completely opened up. A side door was left opened, leading to the dark hallways on the inside. Anyone could walk in there if they wanted to. I would not recommend that though as the inside looked extremely dilapidated and hazardous to explore. Overall, I was shocked to see how easy it would be to sneak into the building.
To the side of the sanitarium was an abandoned house with a tire swing dangling in front of it. It was almost more creepy than sanitarium itself. Its wood shingles were cracked from aging which made it all the more hair-raising. As we stayed parked there observing it, I noticed a multitude of litter around it, which was saddening. I also saw a raggedy stuffed animal near it as well. Although I got no picture of it, it made the whole experience a bit more chilling. Something as innocent as a dirty stuffed animal, lying face down in the dirt, next to an eerie, old house really put the nail in the coffin about how unloved this place has been for so long.
Exploring such a dark place with so much misunderstood history was very eye-opening to me. The sanitarium is beautifully eerie and I would love to explore the inside with the owner's permission. There's a lot to be seen here and I hope this magnificent property is restored and not just torn down, like some locals are suggesting it might be.
If you find your way around Providence, NY, drive by and take a look at this historic building. During the day it had its fair share of scary sights to it, I can't imagine the looks of the property at night. The vibes and feelings from this place were strongly uncanny. It's definitely worth a look and an opportunity to feel such a unique place. I hope to go back and get more pictures before leaving here.
