Old St. Francis Hospital

Posted on January 29th, 2008 by Jackie Danicki



St Francis Apt

Originally uploaded by G Kirk.


I was already feeling pretty bad last night when a friend and I headed there for what I’ll call “an event,” though that makes it sound rather more grand than it was. Whatever, doesn’t matter.

This place is spooky as hell! From the outside, it looks haunted, and I really don’t suggest ending up round the back. Inside, it’s dingy and cold. At one point, I went off in search of the loo; when I found it and saw the state it was in, I decided I could wait another hour or so until I was home.

I couldn’t get out of there quickly enough. It felt like every germ of every patient who ever passed through had taken up residence in and on my body. (NOTE: Old St. Francis hasn’t been a hospital for a while - it’s now apartments - but it reminded me a lot of the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, London.)

All this to say, I am feeling rather under the weather. I’ve managed to avoid being sick (except for food poisoning) all winter, so this is pretty annoying. Hoping it doesn’t last long, taking a break from email and stuff while I try to figure out how this “rest” thing works.

Filed under: Life

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5 Responses to “Old St. Francis Hospital”

  1. Jim Treacher, on January 29th, 2008 at 8:32 pm Said:

    Get well!

  2. MJ, on January 30th, 2008 at 9:54 am Said:

    I hear you - a Victorian former state mental hospital in Northern Michigan is being turned into a “mixed use” development. I find the grounds and architecture beautiful and creepy (I love creepy) but the husband swears he can still feel the TB floating around (hardly likely, but still).

  3. Julie, on January 30th, 2008 at 12:33 pm Said:

    Weird! I was just reading 5CHW4R7Z’s blog and saw your pic– “Wait, isn’t she the lady from Jack and Hill?” And you were! Small world.

    Anyway, my mom went to nursing school at Old St. Francis in the 60s. She said it was pretty darn spooky then, too. It had a brief period of time where it was a nursing home (after it was a hospital). I’ve often wondered about the apartments in there, though there’s no way I’d want to live on Queen City Avenue. Do you have any interior pictures?

  4. Jackie Danicki, on January 30th, 2008 at 12:59 pm Said:

    Yes, very small world, Julie!

    I took a few interior pics, will upload them when I’m feeling more functional. There is NO WAY I would be able to live in that place, or even visit it regularly.

  5. Julie, on January 30th, 2008 at 2:21 pm Said:

    I’d love to see them when you’re feeling better!

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