Norwich State Hospital

Originally built in 1904, Norwich State Hospital consisted of one building, but rapidly grew; in a little over a decade there were 16 buildings, and it continued to expand to over 20 in the 1930s including laboratories, doctors' and attendants' housing, a greenhouse, a barber shop, recreational facilities, and more. Though it was built for the mentally ill and criminally insane, it also housed the elderly, patients with chemical dependance issues, and tuberculosis patients.

The closure of the buildings began in the 1970s and when the facility was completely shut down in 1996, only two of the buildings were still in use. Since then it has sat abandoned, a popular destination for urban explorers/vandals. Plans to build a theme park, hotel, performing arts school, and movie studio onsite fell through in 2006, and while the property was patrolled by police and security, the deterioration of the buildings and the toll taken on them by vandals was severe. Though the property is on both the National and State Historic Register, and despite the fact that as of this writing no finalized plans have been reached for its future, the Preston Redevelopment agency started demolishing the buildings in 2011 using state grant funding, a wasteful and ignominious fate for a series of beautifully built and culturally significant structures. Though first selectman Rob Congdon is quoted in the above article as saying, "It's sad to see this incredible architecture come down, but there really is no choice," there is no evidence that any alternatives other than demolition were ever considered for the site or that any effort was made to preserve them whatsoever.