Fort Lyon VAMC Hospital

Scenes from the VA neuropsychiatric hospital in Fort Lyon Colorado a few months before it closed in 2001. It is now a prison. Mostly of interest to former patients, staff, and residents of Las Animas, Colorado and vicinity.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Fort
• Lyon
• Colorado
• VA
• Hospital

[MassaJim]

What a trainwreck the old Fort has become in this video. The baseball field was beautifully kept in the 50s and 60s and nothing looked run down then. Who knows what it looks like now that it's no longer open to the public. Would love to hear from current prison staff as to the state of the place now.

[brentrn]

@MassaJim

That video was from 2001. I stopped by again in 2007 and it was worse. Most of the residential area is completely run down.

[FultsMom]

I lived there from 1976 until 1981. I thought I was the only one who has these memories.

Does anyone know what is happening now?

I remember when they built the pool and then had to fix it after the blizzard.

[brentrn]

The hospital is now a minimum security prison for the state of Colorado.The main buildings are now surrounded by a tall fence. The housing area is in decay. It is sad but the conversion has kept some jobs in the area.

[bloodthreat]

i was in prison there for about 8 months the pool is gone, the mini gold course is gone, the baseball field is gone, and theres a 14 foot double razor wire fence now.

[brentrn]

Thanks for the comment. I visited once again in the summer of 2007 and was saddened to see how the area outside the fence has been left to decay.

[hotstuff66forsure]

wow I played softball aganist my father louis alvarez and we won....It was great to have a win over my father........Father I LOVE YOU......

[jomgue]

Wow this is terrible I use to live there in one of the homes we use to walk to the stables to ride our horses there in the year 76 my dad was a physcician there and many family members including myself volunteered there very sad!

[MassaJim]

Here are some families from the 50s & 60s: Griffith, Finney, Hohman, Halliday, Lentini, Horak, Haskin, Gordon, Roberts, Tanner, Attoman, Feldman, Catney, Longino, Drozell, Walker, Hickey, Hefner, Pettus, Terboss, Newcomb, Roberts, Arundale, Gonzales, Royston, Kehl, Motzkus, Lagerstrom, Seavey, Garrett, Nakamura, McAdam, Colon, McNulty, Irish, Morgan, Madsen. I'll post more later if I can remember.

[genpetdriver]

I remember frank mims to. he used to walk down or street all the time. I went to the free movies at the theater and spent many many nights over at the ball field watching my mom play softball. Wow, it is really nice to hear from another person who was a kid there the same time i was. Those were truly my wonder years.

[giacamo1]

he died