Once the largest building in America, this abandoned asylum is now no more than a labyrinth of crumbling brick walls and dusty beds. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital was open for more than 120 years and housed more than 7,000 patients at a time including the folk singer Woody Guthrie. But it closed for good in 2003, and despite a fierce campaign authorities in New Jersey will demolish the remains of its chapel, classrooms, dental clinic and power station within months. Left to rot: Once reputedly the largest building in America, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey had more than 7,000 patients during its peak in the 1950s . The doctor won't see you now: A therapy room lies abandoned with straps still trailing across the bed. The remains of the complex will be demolished within months . Reclaimed by nature: Weeds have begun to spring up again in the condemned 19th Century buildings. The photos were taken by urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31 . Magnificent: The grand building opened its doors in 1876 and soon expanded. Its patients included the folk singer and Huntingdon's Disease sufferer Woody Guthrie . With 678,000 square feet of space, the former 'lunatic asylum' opened to relieve pressure on a nearby facility. The main building was widely said to be the largest building by footprint in the U.S. until 1943, when it was surpassed by the Pentagon - which has 6.5million square feet altogether. The Pentagon itself has long since been surpassed and America's largest building by footprint is now the Tesla Motors plant in Fremont, California. The factory opened in 2010 has the second-largest footprint in the world (5.5million sq ft), beaten only by an auction centre for flowers in the Netherlands (5.6million). Built from 1871 and opened in 1876, the hospital originally accommodated just 600 patients but soon expanded. By 1880 the patient . population was 800 and in 1903 the numbers reached 1,500. The population of the hospital reached its peak in 1953, when millions of shell-shocked soldiers returned from the Second World War suffering from what is now widely known as post-traumatic stress disorder. By then it held 7,674 patients and was a self-sufficient campus, with facilities including a . laundry, chapel, dental clinic, infirmary, classrooms, therapy buildings, . dormitories and even a power station. American folk singer Woody Guthrie, who wrote hundreds of songs and made famous recordings of Red River Valley and This Land is . Your Land, was  committed in 1956 with Huntington's Disease. The genetic disorder had blighted the life of his mother and made it difficult for him to walk, causing wild fluctuations in mood. Even as Guthrie was in his final years before he died in 1967, folk revivalists were basing a new scene on Guthrie's genius in New York's Greenwich Village. One of his visitors in Greystone Park was the undisputed king of the Village scene: a 19-year-old Bob Dylan. A 19-year-old Bob Dylan visited folk singer Woody Guthrie (left) when he was a patient at Greystone Park, where many of the chairs and tables lie abandoned (right) Faith: The purpose-built chapel would have provided solace to those suffering from terrible illnesses in an age which understood little about them. But now it lies empty, with the upside-down cross of St Peter (often - and maybe in this case - appropriated as a symbol of satanism) graffitied on the wall near where the altar stood . Magnificent: The vaulted ceiling of the chapel, which will soon be demolished in a project expected to cost $50million. The site was so large it had its own power station . Big questions: The way Western countries treat the mentally ill has been a major debate, particular since Ken Kessey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . Many western psychiatric hospitals were controversial for their use of treatments such as electric shock therapy, which was introduced at Greystone Park in the early 1900s. Ken Kessey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest would be made into a seminal film starring Jack Nicholson, which swept all four major Academy Awards and turned America's treatment of the mentally ill into an international debate. As years went by Greystone Park's grand buildings fell victim to decay and overcrowding. Finally, in 1988, its directors could take no more. All . patients were moved to a modern complex next to the original site, but the central block was still used by . administration staff for another 15 years until they, too, left in 2003 and the doors closed for good. Last year the state of New Jersey announced plans to tear down the asylum in a $50million project to expand the new complex, prompting outcry among those who wanted to preserve it. The last buildings on the campus are expected to be demolished within months after authorities received six offers, but ruled all would require some sort of state subsidy. In December the Preserve Greystone group accused New Jersey's administration of failing to engage with developers who wanted to re-use and restore the historic building. Mould and asbestos: Now unfit for human habitation, this was once the parlour on the self-contained campus where the 7,000 patients could go for a haircut . Learning: The school room inside the campus, which over the years taught many people with complex issues which psychiatrists had yet to fully understand . Silver lining: New Jersey's authorities rejected six alternative offers for the site, claiming all of them would have required public money, and chose to demolish it instead . Urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31, said: 'Holes in the roof have let in rain and snow, which has allowed plants to take root in the floors. Snow and ice appear in winter' 'The private sector has expressed interest in re-purposing it, and other historic structures on the site as well, thus preserving them for future generations and sparing taxpayers the terrible costs of their destruction,' they said in a statement. 'The administration failed to follow through, changed course, and did their best to create the perception that it was financially “infeasible” for the private sector to make a go of it.' Volunteer John Huebner added: 'Failure to redeem a local icon exacts a cost on public morale. People rightly value their history – good, bad or indifferent, and the near universal response to the prospect of the Kirkbride’s demise is “what a shame”, “what a waste”, “too bad they couldn’t find a way to do something with it.”' Urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31, made a tour of the eerie interior and took the haunting photos in this collection. She said: 'The interior of Greystone has fallen into various states of decay. The wards furthest from the centre are the most destroyed since they were abandoned first. The top floors have seen the worst of it. 'Holes in the roof have let in rain and snow, which has allowed plants to take root in the floors. Piles of snow and ice appear in the winter. 'At the centre of the building the administration block is remarkably well preserved. In fact, the power was still on until just a few months ago. 'The whole building is covered in hazardous asbestos and mould.' Grand: Twin staircases inside the huge complex, which expanded throughout the first half of the 20th Century as soldiers returned from the Second World War . Room with a view: Leaves creep in through the window of one of the wards. Preservationists were furious at the New Jersey administration for 'ignoring' other offers .
Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital, New Jersey, was largest building in U.S. until Pentagon surpassed it in 1943 .
Hospital for mentally ill opened in 1876 and patients included folk singer Woody Guthrie but it shut down in 2003 .
At its peak in 1953 it held 7,674 patients and had a chapel, classrooms, a dental clinic and its own infirmary .
It will be knocked down within months despite a campaign after state authorities rejected six alternative offers .
Once the largest building in America, this abandoned asylum is now no more than a labyrinth of crumbling brick walls and dusty beds. Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital was open for more than 120 years and housed more than 7,000 patients at a time including the folk singer Woody Guthrie. But it closed for good in 2003, and despite a fierce campaign authorities in New Jersey will demolish the remains of its chapel, classrooms, dental clinic and power station within months. Left to rot: Once reputedly the largest building in America, Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey had more than 7,000 patients during its peak in the 1950s . The doctor won't see you now: A therapy room lies abandoned with straps still trailing across the bed. The remains of the complex will be demolished within months . Reclaimed by nature: Weeds have begun to spring up again in the condemned 19th Century buildings. The photos were taken by urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31 . Magnificent: The grand building opened its doors in 1876 and soon expanded. Its patients included the folk singer and Huntingdon's Disease sufferer Woody Guthrie . With 678,000 square feet of space, the former 'lunatic asylum' opened to relieve pressure on a nearby facility. The main building was widely said to be the largest building by footprint in the U.S. until 1943, when it was surpassed by the Pentagon - which has 6.5million square feet altogether. The Pentagon itself has long since been surpassed and America's largest building by footprint is now the Tesla Motors plant in Fremont, California. The factory opened in 2010 has the second-largest footprint in the world (5.5million sq ft), beaten only by an auction centre for flowers in the Netherlands (5.6million). Built from 1871 and opened in 1876, the hospital originally accommodated just 600 patients but soon expanded. By 1880 the patient . population was 800 and in 1903 the numbers reached 1,500. The population of the hospital reached its peak in 1953, when millions of shell-shocked soldiers returned from the Second World War suffering from what is now widely known as post-traumatic stress disorder. By then it held 7,674 patients and was a self-sufficient campus, with facilities including a . laundry, chapel, dental clinic, infirmary, classrooms, therapy buildings, . dormitories and even a power station. American folk singer Woody Guthrie, who wrote hundreds of songs and made famous recordings of Red River Valley and This Land is . Your Land, was  committed in 1956 with Huntington's Disease. The genetic disorder had blighted the life of his mother and made it difficult for him to walk, causing wild fluctuations in mood. Even as Guthrie was in his final years before he died in 1967, folk revivalists were basing a new scene on Guthrie's genius in New York's Greenwich Village. One of his visitors in Greystone Park was the undisputed king of the Village scene: a 19-year-old Bob Dylan. A 19-year-old Bob Dylan visited folk singer Woody Guthrie (left) when he was a patient at Greystone Park, where many of the chairs and tables lie abandoned (right) Faith: The purpose-built chapel would have provided solace to those suffering from terrible illnesses in an age which understood little about them. But now it lies empty, with the upside-down cross of St Peter (often - and maybe in this case - appropriated as a symbol of satanism) graffitied on the wall near where the altar stood . Magnificent: The vaulted ceiling of the chapel, which will soon be demolished in a project expected to cost $50million. The site was so large it had its own power station . Big questions: The way Western countries treat the mentally ill has been a major debate, particular since Ken Kessey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest . Many western psychiatric hospitals were controversial for their use of treatments such as electric shock therapy, which was introduced at Greystone Park in the early 1900s. Ken Kessey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest would be made into a seminal film starring Jack Nicholson, which swept all four major Academy Awards and turned America's treatment of the mentally ill into an international debate. As years went by Greystone Park's grand buildings fell victim to decay and overcrowding. Finally, in 1988, its directors could take no more. All . patients were moved to a modern complex next to the original site, but the central block was still used by . administration staff for another 15 years until they, too, left in 2003 and the doors closed for good. Last year the state of New Jersey announced plans to tear down the asylum in a $50million project to expand the new complex, prompting outcry among those who wanted to preserve it. The last buildings on the campus are expected to be demolished within months after authorities received six offers, but ruled all would require some sort of state subsidy. In December the Preserve Greystone group accused New Jersey's administration of failing to engage with developers who wanted to re-use and restore the historic building. Mould and asbestos: Now unfit for human habitation, this was once the parlour on the self-contained campus where the 7,000 patients could go for a haircut . Learning: The school room inside the campus, which over the years taught many people with complex issues which psychiatrists had yet to fully understand . Silver lining: New Jersey's authorities rejected six alternative offers for the site, claiming all of them would have required public money, and chose to demolish it instead . Urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31, said: 'Holes in the roof have let in rain and snow, which has allowed plants to take root in the floors. Snow and ice appear in winter' 'The private sector has expressed interest in re-purposing it, and other historic structures on the site as well, thus preserving them for future generations and sparing taxpayers the terrible costs of their destruction,' they said in a statement. 'The administration failed to follow through, changed course, and did their best to create the perception that it was financially “infeasible” for the private sector to make a go of it.' Volunteer John Huebner added: 'Failure to redeem a local icon exacts a cost on public morale. People rightly value their history – good, bad or indifferent, and the near universal response to the prospect of the Kirkbride’s demise is “what a shame”, “what a waste”, “too bad they couldn’t find a way to do something with it.”' Urban explorer Julia Wertz, 31, made a tour of the eerie interior and took the haunting photos in this collection. She said: 'The interior of Greystone has fallen into various states of decay. The wards furthest from the centre are the most destroyed since they were abandoned first. The top floors have seen the worst of it. 'Holes in the roof have let in rain and snow, which has allowed plants to take root in the floors. Piles of snow and ice appear in the winter. 'At the centre of the building the administration block is remarkably well preserved. In fact, the power was still on until just a few months ago. 'The whole building is covered in hazardous asbestos and mould.' Grand: Twin staircases inside the huge complex, which expanded throughout the first half of the 20th Century as soldiers returned from the Second World War . Room with a view: Leaves creep in through the window of one of the wards. Preservationists were furious at the New Jersey administration for 'ignoring' other offers .
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