Sunland Hospital Site

The former site of a notorious mental hospital for children that closed in 1983 after investigations revealed abuse, neglect, and horrific conditions. The main building was demolished in 1999, but the administration building and playground remain.

Sunland Hospital was part of a chain of W.T. Edwards Tuberculosis Hospitals built across Florida from 1952-1969. When a TB vaccine was discovered, the facilities reopened as Sunland Training Centers by 1961, caring for mentally and physically disabled adults and children. An investigation in the 1970s revealed horrific abuse and neglect—patients bitten by rodents and pests, physical beatings, and severe understaffing. In 1978, the Association of Retarded Citizens filed a class-action lawsuit, forcing closure in 1983. The abandoned hospital became notorious among ghost hunters and urban explorers. Visitors heard screams and moans of children, saw weird lights and sounds, and encountered apparitions of little boys and girls. Shadows of former patients appeared, including someone hanging from the ceiling. In 1997, a man plunged to death in an elevator shaft while exploring with friends, leading the Pine Hills community to petition for demolition. The main building came down in 1999, with all remaining structures demolished by November 2006. The site now holds Victoria Grand Apartments, but a playground where the hospital stood is rumored haunted by spirits of institutionalized children. Many who died at Sunland were buried at Greenwood Cemetery's Baby Land, where visitors still hear children laughing and feel tugging on their pants.