Seaside Sanatorium, Waterford (2021) – Photograph by Authorīy the Great Depression, new properties became available, including the Smith-Grimes estate in Waterford. Too small to meet the demand, the commission searched for a new location. The property was only about 2.5 acres with 97 feet of beach. This treatment was known as “heliotherapy.” Maher and associates planned a sanatorium on the coast, and by 1918, the first campus opened at the former White Beach Hotel in East Lyme. Research showed children with the bone and glandular forms fared best in places with exposure to sunlight and the breezy, fresh air typical of the oceanfront. Maher, head of Connecticut’s Tuberculosis Commission and a New Haven physician, campaigned to get children with non-pulmonary tuberculosis into separate institutions. There were four such sanatoriums in Connecticut by 1930-one each in Hartford, Norwich, Shelton, and Meriden.Īround 1905, Dr. Some medical professionals believed the best solution was to separate tuberculosis patients and offer them bed rest and proper nutrition in places that seemed like large country homes. Variants included a glandular form that aggravated the lymphatic system. In children, a version crippled the body and attacked the bones. Tuberculosis was the leading killer in Connecticut by the early 20th century, even before illnesses such as cancer, and caused an estimated 1 out of every 20 funerals. The Tuberculosis ThreatĪs industrialization progressed in the West, tuberculosis became a significant health concern and overcrowded cities allowed the illness to spread. But at its height, the former tuberculosis sanatorium (later institution for the mentally disabled) boasted of a nationally innovative treatment with natural methods at an architecturally and environmentally splendid facility, the first of its kind in the United States. After failed attempts at restoration, the buildings remain in disrepair. Few residents aside from locals are aware of this early 20th-century tuberculosis hospital (turned scenic park) and its significance. DEEP Commissioner Rob Klee says they’re looking for “that neat intersection of a space for potential conference center or small hotel, but continuing always our theme of public access and enhancement of our beautiful shoreline.”ĭevelopers will have until July to submit their plans.Connecticut’s Seaside Sanatorium (also known as “The Seaside” and “Seaside Regional Center”) in Waterford is an often-forgotten gem overlooking the Long Island Sound. The State is now offering tours for prospective hotel developers, including an open house that was held on Monday. “We determined that using the existing structure, having a private developer come in and a public-private partnership, and turn it into a state park lodge concept would be the best action for the State to take.” And in January, state officials released their plans for the project.Ĭhris Collibee with DEEP said it’s important to keep the property open to the public. In 2014, Governor Malloy designated the property as a state park. It also served as a home for the elderly, and a psychiatric hospital before it closed in the ‘90s. The 36-acre park was originally a medical facility to treat children with tuberculosis in the 1930s. We’re obviously open to having the interiors of the buildings redesigned for hospitality use.” “The exteriors of the buildings will remain pretty much as they are, and follow the Secretary Interior Standards for historic rehabilitation. It would be the first hotel in a state park in Connecticut.ĭEEP Deputy Commissioner Susan Whalen said they want to reuse the historic structures at Seaside State Park for lodging, dining, a spa, and other amenities. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is looking for partners to develop a once abandoned psychiatric hospital in Waterford into a hotel.
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