At 2,500 feet in elevation along the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, this former tuberculosis sanatorium turned state hospital turned prison has a long history.
At 2,500 feet in elevation along the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania, this former tuberculosis sanatorium turned state hospital turned prison has a long history.
Cresson Tuberculosis Sanitorium formally opened in January 1913 on lands that steel magnate Andrew Carnegie once owned. Most of the early structures were designed in the Tudor Revival style. The Administration Building received the most adornments, with gargoyles on the tower and the crests of Scottish clans cut into the sandstone to pay homage to Carnegie’s heritage.
Initial tuberculosis treatment included daily fresh air, a diet high in ascorbic acid, vitamin A, protein, and bed rest. Later, pneumothorax treatments were developed that allowed a lung’s partial or complete collapse by introducing air into the pleural cavity, giving the lung a chance to rest and heal. The development of the drug streptomycin led to a dramatic decline in tuberculosis rates and deaths. The medicine began to be administered at Cresson in 1947.
In December 1956, Cresson became Lawrence F. Flick State Hospital, specializing in treating those with severe mental disorders. In 1964, it became the Cresson State School and Hospital after it began admitting patients with intellectual disabilities before being renamed again in the 1970s to the Cresson Center. It closed in December 1982 when plans were announced to convert the psychiatric center into a prison.
SCI Cresson, a medium-security state correctional institution, opened in 1987. The campus incorporated several prototype cell blocks designed to maximize line-of-sight for guards and offer ease of maintenance compared with earlier prison designs. Several of the original tuberculosis-era structures were left intact and repurposed, while the wings that extended from the Administration Building were torn down. SCI Cresson closed in June 2013 because the costs of maintaining the complex were much higher than newer facilities. Cresson Secure Treatment Unit, which operated independently from SCI Cresson, shut down in August 2016.
Today, the former sanatorium-prison complex has been repurposed for Big House Produce, an indoor hydroponic business, and is open for tours and events.
Check out more photographs and history of Cresson Tuberculosis Sanatorium/Lawrence F. Flick State Hospital/Cresson State School and Hospital/Cresson Center/SCI Cresson.
