Utility Tunnel, Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, Minnesota

Utility tunnels like this one run beneath the Fergus Falls Kirkbride Building, connecting the asylum's wings and outbuildings so that steam, water, and electrical lines could be routed without cutting through patient wards. The Kirkbride, built in 1890 to the linear-wing plan popularized by psychiatrist Thomas Story Kirkbride, relied on a central power plant to heat and light its sprawling complex, and tunnels such as this carried pipes and conduit the length of the building. The facility operated as a state hospital into the late 20th century before closing, leaving its mechanical infrastructure largely intact and exposed to decades of decay.

Photo taken in June 2014.