A couple weeks ago PW's staff photographer Jeff Fusco went to the site called Byberry in Northeast Philadelphia. It's a collection of crumbling buildings that were once a state hospital for the insane. It was, according to the horror stories, a real snake pit—the kind of place that made deinstitutionalization necessary.

Urban spelunkers have long been sneaking into Byberry's haunting buildings, as have ghost watchers, who insist the spirits of the dead remain there. I once wrote an article about it, asking people in the area to write to me with their Byberry stories. I got letters and emails that told of abuse but no one wanted their names used. All these years after it was closed, people are still afraid to talk about it. So I never wrote an article.

Now they're going to turn the site into an office park. It's a huge project, and a bit of a tragedy for those who want to preserve the decaying beauty of the buildings. For a sense of what it's like inside, go here: Some of the images are beautiful.

For a sense of the exterior, I'm trying to upload some of Jeff Fusco's amazing photos, but they're too big. Meanwhile, this is my last call for stories about Byberry. Please do write if you've got something to say about it. And if anyone can get me in there, I'd love to go.