Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia, once sprawled across thousands of acres as one of the largest psychiatric institutions in the world. At its peak in the 1960s, it housed over 12,000 patients. Today, the complex stands largely abandoned, its buildings surrendering to kudzu and weather, its vast grounds returning to wilderness. With demolition and redevelopment plans looming, the future of this historic site is uncertain.
These spaces hold the stories of thousands of patients who lived here, staff who worked here, and a community shaped by this institution for generations. Over the course of multiple visits throughout 2025, I set out to create a project that acknowledges both the architecture and the human history embedded in this forgotten place.
