Watch: What exactly did mental asylum tourists want to see?

Institutions used to welcome recreational visitors

Timeline
Timeline
1 min readDec 28, 2017

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Insane Asylum, Jacksonville, Ill. (Library of Congress)

As our understanding of mental illness has changed, so too has the phenomenon of asylum tourism. Visitors once flocked to see the terrible spectacle of suffering, mentally ill patients. Then, as the asylum became slightly more evolved, tourists came to see expanses of green lawns and majestic buildings. Today, the privacy of those in treatment is respected, but we still have a long way to go.

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Timeline
Timeline

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