Greystone's Last Stand - Extended Preview

The sprawling Greystone Psychiatric Hospital sits on a hilltop in Parsippany, NJ. It was constructed there well over 100 years ago, opening in the summer of 1876. At the time of its completion Greystone was the largest singular building in the entire country, and held that title until the Pentagon was completed in 1943. The enormous facility was constructed following the Kirkbride plan. Named after Thomas Story Kirkbride, it was a model of psychiatric hospital that featured large wings of wards stretching outward from a center point, which was often the main entrance and administrative area of the facility. Though often seen as eerie places, these old asylums were actually built with the best of intentions for the patients. Yes the sprawl of these wings may seem imposing to an outsider, but they were purposely created narrow to allow patients constant window views and plentiful sunlight. Since the wards were indeed slender in design, they had to make them exceedingly long in order to allow adequate room for the thousands of people living here. Today the grand old hospital stands abandoned, as it has been since 2008. The state of New Jersey now seeks to demolish this majestic building to create open space. This is to be done at an estimated expense of some $50 million in taxpayer funding. Several groups have already come forward and presented plans to the state, all with great interest in preserving and reusing the entirety of the old Greystone Psychiatric Hospital, and the funding to back their projects. However, for reasons that still have yet to be properly explained, the state has chosen to forgo all of the proposed plans for redevelopment, and instead wish to raze the entirety of the building. If we lose Greystone it will not only be a terrible blow to national history, architectural preservation, and environmental accountability, but it will be a great disservice to future generations who will never be allowed to experience this monument to architectural engineering and psychiatric medicine. "Greystone's Last Stand" will follow the story of Greystone Psychiatric Hospital as it unfolds. Visit us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreystonesLa... For more information on Greystone and how you can help, visit - http://www.PreserveGreystone.org Also - Please, if you like what we're creating here, share it around. We want word to spread about the state's plan to level the old hospital. The demolition of Greystone will be an event universally regretted by future generations. What we have, sitting abandoned in New Jersey, is a historical gem. Something to be celebrated, not destroyed. Narrated by Mark Moran of Weird NJ Music: "Dark Walk", "Heartbreaking", "Lone Harvest", "Reaching Out", "Fairytale Waltz", "Dark Times", "Eternal Hope" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) "As the Crow Flies" by Timothy Vajda Opening news report footage of Greystone's exterior by News 12 NJ 🔸*If you enjoy what we create and would like to help sponsor our endeavors, please consider supporting us via this link - https://bit.ly/SupportAntiquityEchoes 🔸