Just East of downtown Albuquerque is an old mental institution. Built at the turn of the 20th century it is 100% handmade awesomeness. Albuquerque's local paper, the Alibi, runs a reader poll every year asking burque residents to pick all their favorite crap around town. Every year that I lived there I voted for that damn mental institution under the "best building" category (the whole poll was write-in only) and never ever once did it win. The honor always went to some bank building or, maybe on a good year, a museum. Tonight while cruising the interwebs I found these photographs of abandoned insane asylums by Rob Dobi. His series, New England Ruins, restores hope that one day (cross your fingers!!!) enough of those ABQ knuckle heads will finally get their act together and vote that awesome institution into the #1 slot it deserves.

I put this picture first to remind you dudes not to be scared, despite the fact that the following pictures are so creepy that there is a 100% chance that our blog is haunted now.

Also, how bizarre is it that this message, stenciled onto a wall, was supposed to remind the cuckoo residents to keep it chill?

Rob has also shot several abandoned schools, hospitals, medical centers, homes, mills and other spaces in the New England area. Every shot is stunning. See them here.