When it comes to old buildings, how can we not talk about the haunted buildings? If you’re into the paranormal, you may have even seen this building featured on the famous show, “Ghost Adventures”. Located in Duluth Minnesota sits an old building, where from 1912-2002 housed hundreds of patients. “Nopeming” can be translated to “in to the forest” in Ojibway and was first created in attempts to slow down the deadly TB that was killing many throughout the country. At its peak it housed over 400 people, including nurses and doctors! It was believed the patients could be healed through exposure to the fresh air and the surrounding nature. Sadly thousands of TB patients passed within these walls. Once the cure was found it was transferred into a nursing home in the 1970s-2002.
Left: A picture of the outside of Nopeming Sanatorium
Right: Inside of a Nopeming patient room
Many short films have taken place under a variety of titles, however one can be watched on the streaming service IMdB, called “Sanatorium”. I personally have never viewed the film, but its average rates are a 4.9/10. The movie poster does look creepy though!
Movie poster for “Sanatorium”, a horror film filmed in Nopeming
Sadly you used to be able to tour these grounds, but they were closed forever due to it not passing the fire safety rules. It was closed on October 19, 2019 and shockingly I was able to tour the grounds in July 2019, one of the very few tours left of its career. We all had to park away from the ground and walk together. This was creepy because I chose the night tour and the website gave sketchy vibes! Anyways we walked up to the building with the setting sun behind it and one of the first things I noticed was that bars were placed on each window. It made it feel almost like a prison and the tour guide informed us this was to prevent patients from jumping. I remember my heart dropping because it made you realize how in pain each patient was in. The guide also informed us that it housed not only TB patients but help patients from the LGBTQ community, mental illnesses and wives who weren’t listening to their husbands.This led to incredible understaffing and overcrowding of the facilities even with the extensions.
This photo shows the side of the Sanatorium and the bars placed on the windows to prevent jumping
The first site you see when you enter is the church, where many funerals were held. You can see the paint peeling off everywhere and falling to the ground. A major warning to any explorers or old building lovers, do not touch the paint. Many lead paints are left within these buildings and if you touch it, it can be absorbed through the skin. Anyways, we then saw many different patient rooms where abandoned bed frames stood and dust covered the floors. We only had flashlights to see in these rooms which gave it those Scooby Doo vibes where a monster might jump out! We were unable to see patient rooms located on the third floor due to water damage, but they were looking to fix it in the future. Also, the “death tunnels” where the bodies were transferred out of site was also not included.
#1 Hospital room number / #2 Inside the Sanatorium’s Church/ #3 An abandoned patient room
Another amazing sight where I caught a very creepy picture, was in the stage room. Patients were encouraged to stay active and many patients through plays and other performances on the stage. There in the corner by the stage stood a really old chair and now I have seen many ghost photos, which means the most obvious place to catch a ghost picture is on chairs, stairs and peeking corners. Check it out and tell me what you think!
The “orb” was caught on the chair, almost like someone was sitting there
Overall it is a shame that this building was unable to be utilized for other purchases. An attempt was made in 2005 with a transaction of one million dollars! However, the owner was caught for embezzlement and sent to prison. Although if it was bought at this time, it’s been sitting for far too long! I hope to post most buildings where I can post donation sites but for this old building I am not sure there is hope. The cremation building is destroyed (not sure you would want it), the third floor is water damaged and lastly there is lead paint and mold (RED FLAG). In my next post I will find a building with some more hope to continue to save in the state of Minnesota. Let me know what type of buildings to talk about next!
