It was while aimlessly hiking around in the former-nature-reserve-current-automobile dumping-ground that is Hines Park this summer that the existence of the Ardmore Institution first came to my attention. A friend and I were discussing local 'Urban Legends' such as the once-infamous Northville Tunnels, etc. He mentioned having heard of an abandoned mental institution in the area when he was a camp counselor (Yeah, so it sounds like the bastard stepchild of the plotlines of several bad horror movies ['The House on Haunted Hill' and 'Friday the 13th'], but I found it interesting), though he said he had never been there. After a few questions, he determined an approximate location.

     A few nights later, another friend and I went looking for it. All we knew was the general area where it was supposed to be located.  After minimal searching, we found it. It was set back from the road, though we couldn't make out much beyond a set of faux-gothic pillars and a winding driveway, as it was dark out. Since spooky abandoned buildings without power and pansy-ass internet nerds don't mix, we drove right on by.

     Several days later, we decided to return in daylight hours and poke around a little bit. The two of us parked at a nearby apartment complex, and trudged through the wooded area that separated the apartments from the Institution-proper. We came out of the wooded area facing the back of the complex; which was reminiscent of a two story high school from a distance. As we began to draw closer, it became obvious that the place had fallen victim to some hardcore vandalism. The windows on the ground floor had all been smashed out and boarded up with plywood, while the windows on the second floor were open to the elements. There were papers littering the overgrown grass along the perimeter of the building. Upon further examination, these papers turned out to be various documents used in the days when the facility was still operational, including insurance information, patient billing receipts, and even full files on particular patients.

     Unable to resist the temptation of a little exploration, my friend climbed up into one of the second story windows, though I was not quite nimble enough.  He took a quick jog through the second story, and then hopped down.  All the ground floor windows were boarded up, but we ended up finding a way in through an old "security door."  The first room we encountered was completely trashed.  strewn amongst the leaves, papers and beercans were the remains of a fire extinguisher and it's casing.  In through the foyer we encountered a whole bunch of dimly lit creepy shit.  We made it about halfway down the main hall before we found a bunch of spent shotgun shells and spooked each other enough to leave.  The most interesting thing I saw on our brief visit of the interior was an old organ that was left behind.  Vandals had apparently delighted in smashing the living shit out of it, as its keys were a jumble that poured on to the floor.  If I ever go back, I plan on taking several pictures of it, just because it was kind of cool looking.  

     Anyway, after driving home, we took to the internet to try and uncover some history of the place.  At first, the only two news stories we were able to unearth were these two: one printed on June 30th, 1999, which details the arrest of several groups of drunken teens; and July 7th, 1999, which is the story of a former patient who, upon learning of the condition of the hospital, broke in and retrieved her own records.  We later dug up a 1994 article in the Detroit Free Press, but we only read the first two paragraphs, as they charge you $1.95 to read old articles, and we are cheap. Anyway, the article explained that after Ardmore's mental health facilities were closed down, the building became a juvinile correctional facility.  This incarnation was closed in 1994, and the building has lied unoccupied ever since.  It was condemned in 1998.  An interesting footnote to this story is this article, printed by the Detroit News on August 30th, 1999; which details the lack of mental healthcare in Michigan. You can see pictures of the outside of the facility - as well as some of the documentation that is lying around for anyone to see - to the right of this text.

This is the first thing you see if you approach the facility from the woods via the neighboring apartment complex.  To the right of the photo is the exterior of the gymnasium, to the left is the main wing, where the patients' rooms are located.  This is the 'Looney Bin' Part of the structure, seperated from the administrative building.

This is a door into the gymnasium that wasn't open the first time I visited, but the second time I found it wide open.  The graffitti in yellow reads: "Iron Maiden 666 The Number of the Beast." I've never been inside the gym,   though I did peek in through this door.  All that was there was a bunch of building supplies.

This is the exterior gymnasium wall that runs perpindicular to the hallway containing the patient's rooms.  A bunch of idiots left some cheesy graffiti - it's all over the whole building.  The majority of it reads: "Chris Buffalo wuz here."  Way to go Chris Buffalo!

This is a shower that someone decided to rip off the wall and launch into the back yard, via a second-story window. You can see the soap dish in the bottom center. What inspires someone to rip a shower off the wall and launch it through a plate glass window? Alcohol, apparently, as beer cans are all over the inside. Surprisingly, there aren't any on the outside.

This is a window on the ground floor that has been broken out.  Usually, they're all boarded up, but this one has been missing for a few months now.  Inside is an example of what is left of most of the ground floor patient's rooms. Pretty much everything of interest has been either taken or broken.

A close up on the interior of the patient's room. The door directly ahead leads into the main hallway, and the door to the right leads into a bathroom. The closet in the upper left corner contains two completely empty filing cabinets. The base of the bed can be seen in the bottom left, while the rest of it lies at the far right of the room.

This sign is in (obviously) the Patients' parking lot, which lies in full view of a busy street. It is presumed that this fact explains the intact windows, which are also boarded from the inside.

This sign is stapled to an out-of-the-way outcropping where no one would find it unless they were looking for weird shit to take pictures of. The date on it is July 24th, 1998.

An example of the condition of the "house" portion of the structure. The windows are universally busted out, and as you'll see in later pictures, there are a LOT of windows incorporated into the architecture of this part of the compound. The plywood is essentially leaned against the outer walls, not serving much of a purpose.

This is the sign in the main parking lot, semi-visible from the main road. Note the cheesy graphic design, and weeds growing through the cement work.

Another sign in the main parking lot. Apparently someone went to the trouble of ripping this one off the post and didn't have the balls to finish stealing it.

A bunch of foliage and the front of the house. There's really not too much interesting in this picture. I haven't yet been inside the "house" part of the structure. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Another shot of the pillars that frame what was once the main entrance to the administrative "house." Now they surround several huge sheets of plywood that are nailed in place to prevent anyone from using the front entry.

This picture shows more of the millions of missing window panes. To the far right are the missing windows of two patient's rooms, and directly blow it is the steel staircase that connects the administrative building and the mental ward.

This is the view of the structure from the parking lot across the street. Straight through the pillars is the main parking lot, and the big boxy-looking building is the mental ward. Barely visible to the right is the "house," just before the trees start.

Back in the woods a ways, someone with a sense of humor has deposited one of the facility's bathtubs and planted trees. Further back in the woods, the facility's choir risers have been wrapped around a bonfire pit.

A view in through a broken window reveals a pile of documentation. Papers litter the entire structure, even the outside. Some examples of the types of documents found in these piles are presentedin the next section.