Tag: Pennsylvania

While traveling back along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I passed through a typical array of roadside establishments: declining motels, run-of-the-mill gas stations and convenience stores, and greasy spoon diners.

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.

The Rust Belt defines a vast declining industrial corridor of the United States roughly between Chicago and Albany, New York, and dominating many of those once-bustling communities are churches. Many were built as domestic steel mills were being constructed across the country in the early 20th century, and many were closed with the collapse of the steel industry.

At 2,500 feet in elevation, exploring the former Allegheny Tuberculosis Sanatorium was a delight. With heavy fog blanketing the campus in the early mornings, perpetual overcast days, and cooler temperatures even in the dead of summer, its location along the Allegheny Mountain front in Pennsylvania was ideal.

Driving home to upstate New York on a cold, blustery evening, I stopped to visit a childhood memory: the everlasting tourist attraction, Roadside America, but I arrived too late, and the kitschy gift shop and model railroad exhibit was closed for the day. Determined to make the best of the waning evening, I stopped by next door to visit the ruined Suwannee Belle.