Rockhaven Sanitarium was founded in 1923 by a nurse, Agnes Richards, as a place where women suffering “mild mental and nervous disorders” could be treated with more dignity and respect than the state-run insane asylums of the time. Abandoned in the mid-2000's, the decaying property stands in peril as its current owners, regularly entertain bids from developers.

I began photographing the space as part of a photo series called Sanitarium. The halls are quiet, the beds are empty, but there is still an undeniable impact from the women that were here so many years ago. Their emotions linger in the air and in the things they left behind. It is a feeling that is haunting yet also somehow hopeful — a wistful, beautiful sadness at their inevitable passing. My goal was to explore, document and somehow honor that in a meaningful way.