SCETV film documents decades at the State Hospital

The phrase “Bull Street” has come to reflect part of South Carolina’s history about the treatment of the mentally ill, and an S.C. ETV documentary is set to give the historic institution a final farewell.

“Down on Bull Street” will examine the S.C. State Hospital from its early years of the 1800s including a look at the architecture of the buildings, the geography of grounds and the treatment of patients through the Civil Rights movement up to the winding down of on-site care in the 1980s, its filmmakers said Tuesday.

The South Carolina Lunatic Asylum on the grounds of what is now referred to as the Bull Street property was the first facility in the Palmetto State to provide treatment on a statewide basis for patients suffering mental illness. The film, narrated by Beryl Dakers, is the newest installment of SCETV’s Carolina Stories production and will air May 7 at 8 p.m.

At least 180 people have signed up for a private premiere screening Thursday evening at SCETV’s studios in Columbia and a public premiere screening is set for Monday at the Nickelodeon Theatre on Main Street.

“As a resident of Columbia, I pass by the Bull Street facility on a daily basis,” said filmmaker-director Lynn Cornfoot. “It is amazing to discover how much history was right under my nose, hidden by the walls surrounding the property.”

Sharing all of the institution’s history in a 56-minute film is impossible, Cornfoot noted, but the documentary still will educate the public and promote discussion of mental illness.

Panel discussions will follow each of the premieres.

“The panel will talk about more contemporary use of the hospital and community-based models (of care),” said Amy Shumaker, the film’s executive producer. “But I’m really amazed at the amount of history (we) were able to pack into an hour. Everybody should get a complete picture of the history of the State Hospital after this event.”

The 181-acre State Hospital grounds, owned by the South Carolina Department of Mental Health, is under commercial development that is slated to feature downtown retail, residential and office spaces, along with a year-round, $37 million baseball stadium that is under construction.

Some of the most significant structures on the grounds, such as the Babcock Building, are slated to be preserved and reused.

The asylum building – designed by renowned architect Robert Mills – is noted for its Quaker-based theory of construction that was geared toward a patient’s healing assisted by considerations of emotions and the environment, the filmmakers said. In time, the State Hospital developed a bakery, farm, diary and laundry.

Some mental health services are still administered on State Hospital grounds.

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 7:15 PM with the headline "SCETV film documents decades at the State Hospital."