The Fall of an Icon, The End of an Era

Another historic occasion came to pass nearly unnoticed last week when the John E. Fogarty Hospital in Exeter, Rhode Island, finally met its destiny with the wrecking ball, so bringing an end to an era that is as storied as the building was iconic.

Built in 1962, the hospital was named for the U.S. Congressman from Rhode Island, John Fogarty, whose 27-year tenure has been lauded most for its unprecedented contributions toward the the increased awareness and improvement of services for "mentally retarded" citizens. The first and only facility of its kind, the hospital stood for more than a half century on the grounds of the Dr. Joseph H. Ladd Center; the state's historic and now defunct institution for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities.

Designed by the architects of Donald J. Prout and Associates, the building - made of reinforced concrete slabs and paneled in bright orange and ivory porcelain - was unlike any other, and conspicuously out of place, in the region. Built at a cost of $1.2 million, funded mostly by a bond issue approved by R.I. voters, at a height of five stories - totaling 74 feet - it was said to be the tallest building in Washington County. Described as "the hospital of tomorrow," its circular design was claimed to result in "saving 37 per cent in footsteps for the nurses, doctors, and other attendants," while every room faced a "splendid view of the surrounding countryside."

The Fogarty Hospital may be well remembered today by former Ladd Center staff members and residents as the state's premiere medical facility dedicated specifically to treating people with developmental disabilities. Since being abandoned more than two decades ago, younger generations of locals will likely remember it better as a destination for ghost hunters, photographers and "urban explorers."

But perhaps it is best recognized as the epicenter of a social revolution that continues on to this day.

While under inspection by authorities in September, 1977, a confidential report revealing unsanitary and life-threatening conditions at the hospital's dental clinic was leaked to the press by social activists. In its wake, the clinic was immediately shut down, and the details were published - almost as quickly - on the front page of the Providence Evening Bulletin in a exposé by staff writer Peter Perl.

A series of investigative reports by Perl, and fellow journalists Bruce DeSilva and Thomas Walsh, ensued over the next several months, blowing the doors open on what increasingly appeared to be a long history of medical malpractice and human rights violations perpetrated at the Ladd Center. By the year's end, Dr. Ladd's successor, Superintendent John Smith, was fired from his post by R.I. Governor J. Joseph Garrahy, and a class action lawsuit was filed against the state on behalf of all the institution's residents. The suit was resolved in the early 1980s with two subsequent Federal court orders for the institution to diminish its role as a custodial care facility and reduce its population by significant numbers. In 1986, R.I. Governor Edward DiPrete announced a plan to close the Ladd Center; and in 1993, after years of gradual downsizing, the last of its residents were finally moved to alternative facilities and group homes in the community, where many still reside.

The property itself, and its derelict buildings - including Fogarty Hospital - had remained abandoned until recently.

Last summer, four of the Ladd Center's original buildings - some of them close to a century old - were razed. Unlike on that occasion, however, the demolition of the John E. Fogarty Hospital should not come as a surprise, nor should it be met with with a great sense of loss. For every person who will lament the wrecking of these historic buildings, there is surely another who will be glad to see the Ladd Center vanish at last. And while future generations will unfortunately be without such monumental reminders of our state's history, and the origin of our system of care for people with disabilities, we may nevertheless rest assured that its legacy will thrive in spirit, through the memories, legends and literature born from its prolific, if troubling, past.

History is not made of brick and mortar, after all, and will not be so easily forgotten.

Ancients and Horribles on the Fourth of July

Since at least as early as the 1930s, Independence Day parades were traditionally held at The Ladd School.

Little evidence of the earliest of these events exists, however; or at least few examples haves been found, to date. But what rare specimens have survived history, whether by way of the written word or the odd, antiquated Polaroid, seem to suggest that such parades were held in the custom of the "Ancients and Horribles."

In fact, it should be considered hardly a coincidence that the first Ancients and Horribles parade on record in Rhode Island - according to Wikipedia - was held in 1926, in Glocester, while the earliest known photograph of such a parade at the Exeter School can be dated to 1930.

In those early days, on July 4th, costumed Ladd School residents could be observed marching down the institution's rural streets dressed in Indian attire and macabre masks reminiscent of Halloween, led by nurses, horse drawn wagons and the occasional Ford Model A.

Having become fondly anticipated throughout the years, by the 1950s the celebration had grown significantly more elaborate. The revelries spanned two days, incorporating events such as band concerts, a bonfire, field day games, and drum and bugle corps demonstrations. Town residents were as well invited to attend the parade on July 4th, while each year the ever more complex floats - by then drawn by farm tractors and other modern conveyances - were decorated to conform with an annual theme. To commemorate the Ladd School's founding, in 1958 the theme was "The Past 50 Years," for which the floats were designed to depict scenes from the institution's past, and residents were dressed in jumpsuits and aprons; traditional state institution uniforms.

Though no official record exists with which to compare it, the Ladd School's Independence Day celebration may well have reached its pinnacle in 1973. Set atop flat bed trucks on loan from the National Guard, and decorated with paper mache flowers, balloons and banners, a total of 46 floats were displayed, half of which were made by residents of the institution, who rode upon them in elaborate costumes as astronauts, clowns and other characters fashioned to represent various themes.

Community groups from all over Kent and Washington Counties joined the festivities, too, from Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, to Shiners, local fire departments and military troops, who, together, marched and rode from one end of the campus to the other. All told, the parade covered a mile and a half in the span of an hour. And when the precession ended, a customary rifle demonstration by the Quonset Seabees kicked off a night of square dancing and, of course, fireworks.

That year, an estimated 2,500 people from across Rhode Island came out to see the parade; more than any year before. Now, more than a generation since the last Independence Day parade at the Ladd School came to a close, the abandoned, overgrown lots and what few derelict buildings remain along Main Street in Exeter bear nary a whisper of those celebrations long ago. And while there are surely those among us who will still remember the sights and sounds of the old days, the rest of us should be forgiven for feeling as though a part of history has passed us by.

Fortunately, however, we need not rely on our imagination alone to live, or re-live, what may very well have been the grandest of public spectacles in the history of this historic institution: For the first time in over 40 years, a collection of films has surfaced, of the 1971 and 1972 Fourth of July parades at the Ladd School in Exeter, Rhode Island.

On The Death of Dr. Joseph H. Ladd, 40 Years Ago Today

The following was originally published in the Providence Evening Bulletin on Monday, May 13, 1974:

Dr. Joseph H. Ladd, who pioneered efforts in Rhode Island to rehabilitate the mentally retarded, died yesterday at the age of 98.

He was the husband of Pauline (Falco) Ladd.

He was the first superintendent of the Dr. Joseph H. Ladd School in Exeter, which opened in 1907 with seven mentally retarded boys under his care.