Rockhaven Sanitarium was a women’s mental health facility founded by psychiatric nurse Agnes Richards in 1923. Her facility took a radically progressive and humane approach to mental health treatment in an era notorious for asylums that mishandled and even tortured patients. When I made these photographs, the facility had been closed for 7 years after having been in operation for over 80 years. It was in a state of neglect and disarray with furniture and medical equipment strewn about. The atmosphere of abandonment and desolation belied Rockhaven’s legacy as a safe haven for its residents. In 2021, thanks to Friends of Rockhaven advocacy, State Senator Anthony Portantino secured $8MM in state funding to convert the facility into The Rockhaven Mental Health History Museum and to preserve the legacy of Ms. Richard’s work.