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| Burn Brae (Photo courtesy of AsylumProjects.org) |
About eight miles west of Philadelphia into Delaware County,
on the corner of Baltimore Pike and Oak Avenue, you can find the remains of
what was once a…Pizza Hut. Let’s back track a little to a time before Pizza Hut
and even before the famous Bazaar. Let’s go back 150 years to that same corner
and visit a lush green countryside and a grand mansion that served as an escape
for the elite. Did I mention it was an asylum? This was the location for The
Burn Brae Sanitarium. The countryside and clean air were sought after remedies from
a congested city full of crazy. Burn Brae wasn’t your normal insane
institution, Dr. Robert A. Given who founded the asylum in 1859 wanted to do
things a little different.
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| Newspaper Advertisement (photo courtesy of whenlifewasblackandwhite.blogspot.com) |
Burn Brae was intended to house and help a wealthier class
of patients. In an 1895 Burn Brae brochure found at the Delaware County
Historical Society, it states “The idea of placing unfortunate ones in a public
asylum is often especially distasteful to those concerned who would much prefer
a private institution- as establishment not prison like; a place free from grim
stone walls and confining bars and bolts, a residence without the appearance of
any form of coercion, a spot beautiful, soothing, restful, a homelike abode
where the inmates are as guests enjoying privacy restrained in a measure and
yet with the feeling of liberty”. It also stated, “Dr. Given enjoyed the
distinction of inaugurating new methods of treatment now well known to all the
medical fraternity.” The brochure didn’t discuss much more information on
treatment but the pictures definitely helped paint a picture of how a patient
might spend their day. There were pictures of the Music Hall, Bowling Alley and
residents playing lawn tennis. It also lists other activities including
shuffleboard, billiards, chess, croquet, cricket, boating and skating. It
reminded me of an all-inclusive vacation brochure to Sandals, minus the booze
since the majority of patients were there due to a drug or alcohol problem.
Life at Burn Brae seemed to be picturesque.
Long story short, in 1968 the hospital was ordered closed
and according to the September 13th edition of the Delco Daily
Times, for good reasons. The article reads, “The State said the hospital
doesn’t have a mental health program, refuses to apply for a nursing home
license, doesn’t meet housing and dietary standards and dispenses medication
without a licensed pharmacist.”
It’s interesting to think about the events that transpired
at this grand estate. What were the daily regiments and treatments for patients
as well as the daily life of the workers? Who were they, what brought them to
this place, and what happened when they left? Our goal is to uncover the lost
history behind these forgotten walls and the people who came and went.
- -Lost History Detective
They have recently demolished the Pizza Hut and the Burlington which went out of business in 2016 or 2017. In the Delco Times it is said that a Wawa with gas station and an unnamed retail store will be built.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad built a bungalow on Oak Lane in 1941 across from Peter and Penny Stanton's home We spent many hours playing in Burn Brae and in some other buildings. Winter saw us sledding on the hill behind the main building but summer found me coming home crawling with chicken lice! I am 82 years old.
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