This post is part of a series. To see all the buildings I visited on the Willard Tour click the links below.
- Morning at the Asylum by the Lake
- Grandview
- Hadley Hall ( You are here!)
- The Morgue
- Elliot Hall
- Brookside
- The Bleak House
- The Cemetery
Hadley Hall had to be my favorite building on the tour. Hadley served as the hub of recreational and social activities at Willard. With a theater, stage, bowling alley and snack bar this building was sure to be a bright spot in the lives of the Willard patients. Friday night movies where undoubtedly a highlight in the week to not only the patients at Willard but also community members who could come and pay a penny to sit in the balcony to watch the current feature. As a somewhat isolated and agricultural area I am sure this was a treat for the residents of Ovid and Romulus also.
The front tile mosaic was pointed out to us by the tour guide, he said the tiles were made at Willard by patients.
Tile mosaic in the front entry way of Hadley Hall.
Theater/Stage
That main hall of Hadley Hall
The tour group listening the to a speaker talking about Hadley Hall, Can you spot Chris from Exploring Upstate? 🙂
Projector Room
One of 2 old projectors in the projector room
It was not until I got home and was looking at these pics I noticed smoking is misspelled.
In the projector room the walls were lined with notations made over the years about films that were shown. The title and rating of the film went in one column, and in the column to the right the name of the person running the projector, the date, and if the movie should be shown again.
Here the Pink Panther was shown on April 9th by Howard, it was marked as “no” so it was most likely a flop with the audience and would not be shown again.
Bowling Alley
This was one of my favorite rooms on the tour! 
4 Lane bowling hall in the basement of Hadley Hall
There was an area where a person would collect the pins and load them into the setter. Someone in our tour group mentioned he knew a person who worked as a pin setter at Willard during his youth, it would of probably been the perfect job for a younger person as the area was on the smaller side.
Snack Bar
This post is part of a series. To see all the buildings I visited on the Willard Tour click the links below.
Carol Wolfson
Friday 8th of March 2019
Hello, I am reading this in 2019, so I’m not sure if my comment will be seen. I grew up on the grounds of Willard, and just thought I’d mention that the bowling pins were reset by patients at the hospital. And the balcony was full of kids who lived in the area for the Saturday afternoon movies. Carol
Kaia Hadley
Thursday 9th of July 2015
Who is Hadley Hall named for. I'm a Hadley and find no info whether we are related or not.
Jennifer Morrisey
Saturday 11th of July 2015
Hi Kaia, Sorry it has taken a while to get back to you, tracking down the info on Hadley Hall took a little digging. According to this article on Asylum Projects (see page 18) , Hadley Hall was named for the long-time Chairman of the Board, Judge Sterling G. Hadley of Waterloo.
leatha Smith-Fo
Sunday 19th of April 2015
hi Chris, Just thought you'd like to know that Howard (Smith) that showed movies on Saturdays at Hadley Hall was my Dad. I Spent every Saturday of my childhood with my friends sitting in the balcony watching movies. Also bowled in the alley, performed in talent shows on the stage, and played mini putt outside the building. Amazing childhood spent in Willard. Leatha Smith-Fo
Chris Clemens
Saturday 24th of May 2014
I spot myself!!
What a great tour this was. Great to see your photos, you captured some great scenes from that day!!!
Jennifer Morrisey
Saturday 31st of May 2014
Thank you Chris, The tour was very interesting! I still can not believe I did not figure out you were in my group until we were in the car and driving away!