Documenting Cresson
Sanatorium and Prison

In April 2022, I had the opportunity to document the abandoned Cresson Sanatorium and Prison in Lilly, Pennsylvania, shortly after the site came under the ownership of Big House Produce. Located about ten miles west of Altoona off U.S. Route 22, the complex was once known as State Correctional Institution–Cresson, a medium-security, all-male prison. After purchasing the 34-acre property and its 21 abandoned buildings, Big House Produce opened the site to photographers, allowing rare access to its haunting, timeworn interiors.

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The property’s history spans more than a century. It opened in 1913 as a tuberculosis sanatorium, later became the Lawrence F. Flick State Hospital, and was converted into a prison in the 1980s following a $20.6 million renovation. SCI–Cresson officially opened in 1987, operated until its closure was announced in 2013, and shut down later that year—leaving behind a layered legacy of medical, mental health, and correctional history.