All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S08E09.Russian.Mafia.Resort.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
A beachside resort

built upon deception
and dirty money.

This is one of those cases
where fact is stranger
than fiction.

A windswept outpost

hiding a once life-saving
technology.

[Claire Barratt]
From the outside,

none of these buildings are
anything special.

But one in particular,
when you get inside it
is just phenomenal.

And a shadowy site in Iowa

plagued
by its checkered life.

plagued
by its checkered life.

[Polly Ha] This place
is haunted by stories.

It began as an idyllic home
set in green pastures

until it turned
into something else.

Decaying relics,

ruins of lost worlds,

sites haunted by the past,

their secrets waiting
to be revealed.

In Scotland, looking
across the cold waters
of the Firth of Forth,

lies a facility that was once
ahead of its time.

Well, this place
has a apocalyptic feel
to it.

Kind of a Mad Max era thing.

You've got
these abandoned buildings

with rusty tin roofs
and all the glass is gone.

with rusty tin roofs
and all the glass is gone.

It has a real
institutional feel to it.

[Claire] There's not
a single pane of glass
left in the place,

by the look of it.

Most of the doors
are missing.

It's had its time
and it's moved on.

[narrator]
Other features here

clearly point
to its original purpose.

Instead of one
or maybe
two long runways,

this site has loads of them.

Crisscrossing each other
in a spaghetti junction.

[Geoff Wawro] You're used
to seeing this kind of
jumble of runways

[Geoff Wawro] You're used
to seeing this kind of
jumble of runways

in modern day airports.

But to find a runway
this complex
in remotest Scotland

is quite strange.

[narrator]
Inside one nondescript
building

lies a strange construction.

It's theatrical on its scale,
it's round, it's white.

It's quite impressive.
There's things hanging up
above you.

It's clearly
incredibly specialized.

It's clearly
incredibly specialized.

[Geoff] The upper half
is painted white,

and the lower half
is painted blue,

and this must have
some significance.

[narrator]
These crumbling remains

tell a story of remarkable
ingenuity and ambition

at a time of national peril.

But was it all in vain?

In 1940, these
ramshackle structures
on this exposed coastline

went by a surprising name.

[Claire] The name of
the location is HMS Jackdaw,

His Majesty's Ship Jackdaw.

And that is your clue
to what this place is.

[Geoff] This was not a RAF,
Royal Air Force Base.

This was
a Royal Navy Air Base.

The British Navy,
in its infinite wisdom,

thought that all land-based
airfields that serve
the Royal Navy

thought that all land-based
airfields that serve
the Royal Navy

had to have
naval designations.

Her Majesty's Ship this,
Her Majesty Ship that.

[narrator]
Soon after the start
of the Second World War,

pilots here
were training to operate
not from land bases,

but from those on the sea.

[David Hobbs] By 1940,
it was appreciated

that no battle at sea
could be won
without using aircraft.

that no battle at sea
could be won
without using aircraft.

[narrator]
Commander David Hobbs
is a former naval pilot

who spent decades
flying from aircraft
carriers.

The Navy
kept its runways small

because it wanted pilots
to get used to the idea

of operating
from a confined space.

[narrator] Even the layout
of the runways

prepared pilots
for a life at sea.

[David]
With an aircraft carrier,

your pilots are always
going to land into wind

your pilots are always
going to land into wind

heading along the line
of the flight deck

with the carrier
steaming into wind.

So one of the ideas
of having four runways

is you've more often got
a runway that points
into wind.

[narrator] But learning
to take off and land

was only the first part
of the training.

Away from the runways,
the Navy were developing
a secret weapon

that would revolutionize
the fight on the high seas.

[Dominic Selwood]
The floor is covered
in debris and bits of metal.

[Dominic Selwood]
The floor is covered
in debris and bits of metal.

And when you look up,
you see this bizarre
contraction,

only half of which is left.

This machine
was going to help the Allies
win the war.

[narrator] As war broke out,

the German Navy launched

their largest
and most advanced
battleship yet.

Germany went in
with one of the biggest
battleships

anyone had ever seen,
the Bismarck.

[Geoff] This thing
is a behemoth.

[Geoff] This thing
is a behemoth.

It displaces 50,000 tons.

It has an armament
of eight big main guns,
12 secondary guns,

anti-aircraft guns.

It's an absolutely
awe-inspiring
floating battery.

[narrator]
As an island nation,

Britain relied
on imports by sea
to fuel its war effort,

and the Bismarck posed
a huge threat
to those vital supply lines.

But attacking it
would not be easy.

But attacking it
would not be easy.

There's an old adage
among fliers

that, you know,
dive-bombing a ship,

you're going to put holes
in the deck.

If you want to sink it,
you have to fire
a torpedo at it.

[narrator]
With its powerful
anti-aircraft guns,

getting a plane
close enough
to launch a torpedo

required a difficult
and often deadly
aerial maneuver.

The young pilots
would have to perform

an almost two-mile
near-vertical dive

in just 30 seconds.

in just 30 seconds.

It was from bases like this

that the dangerous training
for the mission took place.

They would take off
and they would practice

with dummy torpedoes
against dummy targets.

[Dominic] It's hard enough
on a dry clear day.

But this is Scotland,
it's wet and windy.

And, of course,
they had to train at night
as well.

[Geoff]
All of them were at risk
of blacking out

because the blood
would be sloshing around

from their head
to their feet
and then back up again.

from their head
to their feet
and then back up again.

[airplane engines rumbling]

[Dominic]
Accidents were common.

Good pilots were lost
in the Firth of Forth,

miles away
from the front line.

[narrator]
Despite the tragic loss
of life,

it was still believed
that perfecting
this maneuver

could make
all the difference in battle.

But the Navy needed
a safer way for pilots

to master this tactic.

And the solution came
from a rather unlikely
source.

And the solution came
from a rather unlikely
source.

A firm called Fitups
that made theatrical lighting

asked the Admiralty

if there was anything
they could do
for the war effort.

[Dominic]
They explained to them
this training issue

and they came up
with a radical solution.

One of the world's
first immersive
flight simulators.

[narrator] This is
the torpedo attack trainer.

The structure
and equipment
were centered

around a replica cockpit

around a replica cockpit

where the trainee
would take the stick.

It could roll
up to 30 degrees
either way,

and it could pitch,
I think it was 15 degrees
nose up or nose down.

Obviously it didn't move,
but when you opened
the throttle,

a noise, sounded
like an engine revving up

and the effect
of the lighting

sweeping across
the blue painted floor

gave him
the impression of speed.

[narrator]
But would it work?

Could this new technology
help swing the war
on the seas

Could this new technology
help swing the war
on the seas

in Britain's favor?

[narrator] On an exposed
section of Scotland's coast

are the remains
of a once innovative piece
of technology.

The torpedo attack trainer.

It was designed
to allow airmen to practice
a deadly maneuver

that could help turn
the tide of war.

You can see the horizon
painted on here.

So, this is giving you
the effect of sea.

So, this is giving you
the effect of sea.

The area above here
is painted off-white,

because it was
the perfect color

on which
the lighting gantry up here

could transmit the effect
of clouds, rain, snow,
sleet passing, etcetera.

[narrator] A target ship
was projected
onto the wall.

By changing
its size and position,

the different stages
of an attack
were simulated.

The pilot would find
and line up his target,

The pilot would find
and line up his target,

dive towards the water
and level off, aim and fire.

A beam of light showed
whether he had hit
his mark.

[loud popping]

This would have operated
all day every day

with a team of instructors
running it

and student pilot
after student pilot
coming in here.

It was the first of its kind.

When this opened,
there was literally
nothing like it.

Undoubtedly,
a number of lives

Undoubtedly,
a number of lives

were saved
by this technology.

[narrator] Not long
before the torpedo
attack trainer came online,

the devastating
effectiveness

of the Navy's
torpedo bombers

would become clear.

[Geoff] So on May 24th, 1941,

the Bismarck is set upon
by two British warships,

the Hood
and the Prince of Wales
in a big naval battle.

the Hood
and the Prince of Wales
in a big naval battle.

[Claire] The Bismarck
managed to get a shell

right into the ammunition
locker of the HMS Hood,

and the subsequent fire
tore the ship apart.

The Bismarck was damaged
but managed to get away

and the Prince of Wales
had no chance
to catch it up by itself.

Fortunately,
the Royal Navy's
torpedo planes were ready.

[narrator] Two days later,

a torpedo bomber
launched
from the HMS Ark Royal

intercepted
the fleeing Bismarck.

intercepted
the fleeing Bismarck.

Only needed to get one hit,
one hit in a key place.

And it managed it.

A torpedo strike jammed
the Bismarck's rudder,

and now all she could do
was spin in circles.

That gave the Royal Navy
time to catch up
and sink her.

[cannons firing]

[narrator] Having proved
that this technique
was crucial

[narrator] Having proved
that this technique
was crucial

against
this seemingly
impenetrable Bismarck,

this new technology
helped ensure

that torpedo bombers
continued to play
a vital role

in numerous
Allied victories.

They were a force
that achieved more
with not very much

than a lot of others
in the Second World War.

[narrator] When the war
ended, however,

the miraculous torpedo
attack trainer
was no longer needed.

the miraculous torpedo
attack trainer
was no longer needed.

[David] It was locked up,
they threw the key away,

and basically it was just left
to fall apart.

So what you see here
is 80 years' worth
of neglect.

[narrator]
Although HMS Jackdaw
now lies forgotten,

the training techniques
that began here

are still being used
by the Royal Navy today.

That training has been
the foundation for
the Fleet Air on ever since.

That training has been
the foundation for
the Fleet Air on ever since.

With some airplanes,
like the F-35 Lightning,

over 60% is carried out
in a simulator,

because you can't do it
with the real weapon

in the real airplane,
in the real world.

[narrator]
On Bulgaria's coastline,

where the white sand
meets the blue waters,

lies an empty complex
of epic proportions.

[Sascha Auerbach]
This is a site
you can't miss.

It commands a view
of the entire landscape.

These huge
concrete structures

climb up and down
the cliffs.

It is massive.

[Lynette Nusbacher] They say
the property development

is about location, location
and location.

Well, look at this location.
It's gorgeous.

Why would you invest
so much in building here

Why would you invest
so much in building here

only to walk away?

[narrator] The answer
to that question

is not just
down to the money
drying up.

[Sascha] This is one
of those cases where fact
is stranger than fiction.

You've got money laundering,

you've got
the Russian Mafia,

you've got
international intrigue,

and they all culminate
in this massive site

being abandoned
before it was finished.

[narrator] This area
of the Black Sea

is a famous
holiday destination

where property
is relatively cheap,
the views stunning,

and for developers,
there is serious money
to be made.

[Sascha] In 2006, Laudis,

a somewhat mysterious
development company

bought land
from the local government.

And they did it
with the announced
intention

of building
a holiday resort complex.

of building
a holiday resort complex.

[Jim Meigs] They were
going to have 5,000 units,

thirteen swimming pools,
pubs, restaurants,
a theater,

underground streets,
underground parking.

[narrator]
This luxury resort

was to be called
Costa del Croco.

And to help
fund the project,

huge swathes
of the apartments
were sold on spec.

[Sascha] Some of the folks
who bought them
were investors,

but a lot of them just went
to ordinary individuals.

but a lot of them just went
to ordinary individuals.

[narrator]
One of those individuals
was Anna Ivanova.

For Anna though,
it wasn't just money
she was investing,

but also land
she owned near the site.

[translator] I heard the name
Costa del Croco

for the first time
back in 2005

when I was invited
to a meeting

at a real estate agent's
office.

This was promised to us
as the dream city.

This was promised to us
as the dream city.

[narrator] Like many others,

Anna was sold on the idea
almost immediately.

[Jim] The construction
started in 2007.

And they just poured
everything into it.

The crews worked
day and night,

they brought in
tons of cement.

All of these buildings
went up extremely quickly.

[narrator] The project
was due to be worth
around $150 million.

[narrator] The project
was due to be worth
around $150 million.

And the plans
were hugely ambitious.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator]
Some beautiful fountains
were planned for here.

And quite
a few playgrounds
were on the original plans.

Gardens, bars
and restaurants.

[narrator]
But unbeknownst to Anna,

this development
was hiding
a very dirty secret.

[Lynette] This is a story
about people building here

[Lynette] This is a story
about people building here

for the purpose
of turning money
they can't spend

into clean money that they
can take anywhere.

[narrator]
This is Costa del Croco.

It was sold to thousands
as a dream holiday
complex.

But not long
after construction began,

a dark
and dangerous secret
began to surface.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator]
We had no suspicions
in the beginning.

As we witnessed
how fast the building works
were going.

It was only later on
when there were rumors
about the connection

between the investors
and the Russian Mafia,
and so on.

But, of course,
we didn't know for sure.

[Jim] Information began
to come out

about who were
the real investors behind it.

Turned out one of them
was a guy named
Constantin Tsiganov,

a notorious Russian mobster

a notorious Russian mobster

who was part
of a criminal gang
called Uralmash.

[narrator]
In the 1980s,

Tsiganov had been
a founding member
of the gang.

This was back
when the Soviet Union
was falling to pieces

and the old Soviet
government and the new
Russian government

could not maintain control.

So gangsters like Tsiganov
and his friends,

they became
like The Godfather.

they became
like The Godfather.

[narrator] Tsiganov soon
had tens of millions
of euros in illegal money

gained
through violent crime.

But before long,
the authorities
were onto him.

[Lynette]
So as Russia starts
to sort itself out

in the 1990s and early 2000s,

Tsiganov
has got to leave Russia.

[narrator] Tsiganov claimed
Bulgarian citizenship
through his ancestry,

[narrator] Tsiganov claimed
Bulgarian citizenship
through his ancestry,

but he still had
a major problem.

How to clean
his dirty money.

You can't just go to a bank
and say here's $50 million

or euros or whatever.

I don't know where I got it,
I never paid taxes on it,

but I want you
to keep it for me.

[Sascha] Money laundering
is a very, very
common activity

across criminal enterprise
internationally.

And one
of the most common ways
to do it

is by investing
in legal businesses.

is by investing
in legal businesses.

[narrator] This skeletal site
appears to have been
one such front.

Tsiganov had started
making investments
in various enterprises.

One of those was
the Laudis Property Group

and its investment
in Costa del Croco.

Now, these millions,
which came

from Tsiganov's
multiple criminal
enterprises,

they really
should have flagged him up
to the police.

But mysteriously,
he got away with it.

But mysteriously,
he got away with it.

We don't know exactly
what his relationship was

with the man who is now
the president of Bulgaria.

We don't know
what his relationship was

with the former head
of the Bulgarian
Secret Service.

But what we do know
is that they all played
soccer together.

And I guess that shows
there was a network
of relationships

And I guess that shows
there was a network
of relationships

that Constantin Tsiganov
was able to use

to advantage for a while.

[narrator]
Tsiganov's fortunes,
however,

were about to take a turn
for the worse.

In 2008, the global
financial crisis hit.

[dramatic music playing]

[Sascha] So it starts
in the United States,

but the consequences
are going to ripple
outwards,

but the consequences
are going to ripple
outwards,

like a stone
thrown in a pond.

[Jim] All of a sudden,
nobody had extra money
to invest in anything,

especially not anything
related to real estate,

because real estate values
were collapsing
all over the world.

[Anna speaking
in foreign language]

[translator] We had no idea
what was happening,

we could only see
that all the building work
had stopped.

We received
no official information

on the reasons
behind the holdup.

on the reasons
behind the holdup.

It was only later on
that we were able to see
the real situation.

[narrator] For Tsiganov,
the financial crisis
wasn't his only problem.

[Lynette]
It appears that there was
a shift in power in Bulgaria.

And that shift in power
meant that Tsiganov's
highly-placed friends

could not help him anymore.

[Sascha] A year after the halt
of construction
at Costa del Croco

[Sascha] A year after the halt
of construction
at Costa del Croco

in April 2010, Tsiganov,
his business partner,

and a number
of other dangerous
Russian mobsters

were arrested
and expelled from Bulgaria.

At that point,
Tsiganov seems
to have disappeared.

And there's no way to trace
what happened

to the millions
that were invested
in Costa del Croco.

[narrator] For those
left behind,

this vast site
is a constant reminder
of what might have been.

[speaking in foreign language]

[translator]
Welcome to our home.

You can see for yourself
what it looks like.

We had great dreams,

but now we look
at this skeleton
of concrete and steel.

And I've lost all hope
that this will be our home
one day.

[narrator]
In Central Switzerland,
at the foot of the Alps

lies the medieval city
of Lucerne.

[Fran Scott]
It's a tranquil place

[Fran Scott]
It's a tranquil place

surrounded
by the most breathtaking
scenery.

You've got mountains,
forests,
and gorgeous lakes.

[Claire] It is
a fantastic place to go.

But as you're traveling in
in your car,

and you go
through a couple
of tunnels,

just have a look around
because they are not
what you think.

[narrator]
In a quiet suburb nearby

is a scene
that appears unrelated.

But is it?

But is it?

Tucked in
amongst a block of flats

there's
this unassuming door
set in a wall of concrete.

It peeks out
just below this mound
of grass

right next to a children's
playground.

When you open the door,
it exposes
an underground labyrinth.

Inside is a whole world
of passages and rooms
and spaces.

Inside is a whole world
of passages and rooms
and spaces.

[narrator] The hidden
domain extends all the way

to the busy
freeway tunnels
connecting the two sites.

This underground world
was built with one thing
in mind

and at phenomenal expense.

But there were rumors
that it couldn't actually do
the job it was designed for.

[narrator] In Lucerne,
Switzerland,

the A2 freeway
runs directly
through the city,

carrying
over 85,000 vehicles a day.

But these tunnels
weren't only designed
for handling traffic.

[Fran] When this tunnel
was opened in 1976,

it had
a much bigger purpose.

One that was supposed
to protect the people
of this city

One that was supposed
to protect the people
of this city

in a time
of national emergency.

[narrator] Zora Schelbert
is an expert
on the site's ulterior use.

And one room in particular

reveals how it
might have been
employed.

This is a dorm
where 64 people
would have slept

with bunk beds
four layers high.

Not a lot of space.

[Dougal Jerram] There is
some sort of
military element to it

in terms
of communications
and medical facilities.

in terms
of communications
and medical facilities.

But this
was something bigger.

This was bigger than
what would house an army.

[narrator] The key
to understanding
this buried structure

is the era
in which it was created.

[Fran] At the time
this structure was built,

the world was staring
down the barrel
of the deadliest threat

that it faced since the end
of World War Two.

The Cold War brought
an urgent need

to protect the population
from a nuclear strike.

to protect the population
from a nuclear strike.

[Zora]
It is important to realize

that the fear was not to be
under direct attack
during the Cold War.

The fear was always
to become
collateral damage

between the Soviets
and the US.

[Fran] So the Swiss
introduced a law

that required
nuclear shelters
for the entire population.

And in some places,
this meant thinking big.

[narrator] This is
the Sonnenberg shelter,

[narrator] This is
the Sonnenberg shelter,

completed at a cost
of over $450 million
in today's money.

The price of protecting
a city's people
doesn't come cheap.

The mountain hides
the true engineering
in this particular location.

You will never ever know
how much work has gone
into this.

But it's there
and it was expensive.

[narrator]
The two motorway tunnels

[narrator]
The two motorway tunnels

stretch on
for nearly one mile.

At their heart,

a seven-story
logistics center
was constructed.

If called upon,
the intention was

that the entire complex
could be transformed

into the world's largest
civilian nuclear bunker.

[narrator] If the alarm
sounded, 20,000 of
the city's residents

would descend
on the fortified
fallout shelter.

With the doors closed,
the road would then
be converted

into a vast makeshift
accommodation block.

This building here is not
where the 20,000
would have been living.

This building here is not
where the 20,000
would have been living.

But in here, this is one
of the two motorway
tunnels.

This would have been filled
with beds and toilet areas
for 10,000 people each.

450 tons of flat-packed
structures, beds
and bathrooms

were all stored
ready for assembly.

And to ensure
life underground
ran smoothly,

And to ensure
life underground
ran smoothly,

the bunker contained
a command room, hospital,
prison, radio station,

and when operating,
could house a staff of 700
in the logistics center.

[narrator]
State of the art technology
made certain

the tunnel's occupants
had a clean supply
of breathable oxygen.

[Zora] Those air filters
were vital for
the tunnel inhabitants

because during the Cold War,

the threats
were nuclear threats mostly,

the threats
were nuclear threats mostly,

so they needed
a very powerful
air filtration system

to protect
the tunnel inhabitants.

[narrator]
But if the doomsday
bunker

was ever called into action,

would it all have worked
as planned?

[Fran] In 1987, the system
was put to the test,

but the result
was a little less
than perfect.

[narrator] In Switzerland
is a vast underground
bunker

designed to protect
its citizens
from a nuclear attack.

In 1987, it was put
to the test.

Operation Ant had begun.

The Swiss might be known
for their timekeeping.

But this particular
operation didn't run
like clockwork.

[Dougal] First of all,
it took 24 hours
to shut the doors.

[Dougal] First of all,
it took 24 hours
to shut the doors.

There were some problems
with the door mechanisms.

[Fran] Although officially
this part of the test
did work,

there were
numerous people involved

that say
that one of the doors

didn't actually close
properly.

And if this was not a test

that would have been fatal
for everyone inside.

[narrator]
Malfunctioning doors,
however,

weren't the only
life-threatening issue.

[Fran] Not only could
the 20,000 beds

[Fran] Not only could
the 20,000 beds

not be assembled
quickly enough,

even if that had gone
to plan,

they'd have run out of water
within just two weeks
anyway.

So operation Ant
was probably the beginning
of the end of this facility,

of the idea of housing
20,000 people

in the two motorway tunnels,

because the drill showed
that it would have taken
way too long

to get everything ready
in case
of a nuclear problem.

[narrator] The scope
and scale of the site's use
as a nuclear bunker

[narrator] The scope
and scale of the site's use
as a nuclear bunker

was reduced over the years.

And eventually,
the two road tunnels

became
single-purpose structures.

[Fran]
In 2006, the grand plan
was abandoned.

Traffic does still flow
through the tunnel 24/7,

but its days
as a nuclear bunker
are long gone.

[narrator] Today, one section
of the central complex
remains on standby

[narrator] Today, one section
of the central complex
remains on standby

as an emergency bunker
ready to house
2,000 people.

Just 10%
of the original number.

In the eastern Iowa stands
a solitary building

filled with memories
of a troubled life.

[Alicia] This building
is a really large
impressive structure.

And, back in the day, this
probably would have been

something that caught
people's attention.

[Polly] It's surrounded
by acres of countryside,

like a refuge
away from the industrial
world.

But that picture starts
to change as soon as you
step through the door.

[Fran] So yes,
there's peeling paint

and there's rust
and there's mold.

But there's also
these really long corridors

with door after door
after door.

with door after door
after door.

There's just so many places

someone or something
could be hiding.

[narrator]
What haunted tales

still echo
through these halls?

And what finally brought
this place to its knees?

[Alicia] There's a lot of
stories
that took place here.

But unfortunately,
a lot of those stories
are tragic.

But unfortunately,
a lot of those stories
are tragic.

[out-of-tune piano playing]

[narrator]
While uninhabited today,

evidence remains
of the property's final use

as a home
to a few dozen individuals.

And as Cindy Anderson,
the site's manager,
has discovered,

much of this
is of a personal nature.

[Cindy]
One of the sad realities
of living in an institution

is that sometimes
when you left,

is that sometimes
when you left,

your things didn't get
to come with you.

And people's belongings
were left behind.

We don't know
who they belong to.

[narrator]
But worldly possessions

weren't necessarily
the only things
that didn't leave.

[Cindy] There's an energy
that seems
to be, you know, swirling,

or when you walk
into a place, you kind of
get a little tingle feeling.

[narrator]
Numerous reports
of paranormal activity

[narrator]
Numerous reports
of paranormal activity

emanate
from the shadowy rooms
below.

The most famous story
belongs
to a supposed spirit

called the Joker

and he roams the basement.

It's said that he hung
himself down there

and has stalked
the corridors ever since.

[Cindy]
He has thrown things,
I have been pushed,

I have had my hair pulled.

And he likes to also be
a little intimidating.

So he might get up
close to you

So he might get up
close to you

so that he
can overwhelm you
at some point.

[Polly] This place is haunted
by stories that are
linked to its past.

It began as an idyllic home
set in green pastures

until it turned
into something else.

[narrator] Established
in the mid-1800s,

the oldest traces of the site
can be found at the rear
of the property,

like the old machine shop.

like the old machine shop.

[Fran] This is now
in pieces.

But originally,
it would have stood up
near the main house

and it wasn't alone.

There would have been
a number
of other structures as well.

[Cindy] There was
a corn crib on site,

there was a big barn.

They farmed,
they had animals, cows,
pigs, chickens.

In the original system
when it was first created,

this property had
over 200 acres.

[bell tolling]

[narrator] But this
was no ordinary farm.

[narrator] But this
was no ordinary farm.

This place had
another specific purpose.

The state of Iowa passed
the Poor Laws.

And under these laws,

the counties created
homes for the poor.

These were designed
to be benevolent
charitable institutions.

[Polly] The idea was
that the able-bodied poor

who were unable
to find employment

could find shelter
and work here.

could find shelter
and work here.

[narrator] The structure
standing here, however,

is not the original building.

This is Edinburgh Manor.

Completed in 1911,

it signaled
a whole new direction
for the site.

As soon as
this new building
was constructed,

a committee was established

to look into mental illness
in the county.

And with that,
a number of patients
who had mental illness

were transferred
to this new site.

were transferred
to this new site.

It was becoming
almost a catch-all

for all these
social problems
in one place.

You end up
with the vulnerable,
weak and elderly

cohabiting with the violent
and threatening.

It's like throwing in foxes
into the henhouse.

[narrator] In Iowa stands
a forlorn building,
Edinburgh Manor,

built to continue the work
of the original poor farms
main house.

Its opening
would actually usher in
an era of change.

The use of some rooms
may have been altered
over the years,

but the design laid
the foundation

for a more institutionalized
approach to social care.

for a more institutionalized
approach to social care.

On the women's wing
on the first floor
has some resident rooms,

but you have a room
that contained
your medications.

The majority of residents
would have been
medicated.

On the opposite side,
on the men's wing,
very similar as well,

you have some offices,
you have
some resident rooms,

there's a game room
at the end of the hall.

They tried very, very hard

to make it
a comfortable place
for people to be.

[narrator]
Reflecting changes
taking place

[narrator]
Reflecting changes
taking place

across the country
in the care system,

some of the old
establishing ideas here
would soon be lost.

[Cindy] When it was
a poor farm the people were
required to work.

They did not want
lazy people.

After the transition
to this building,

it was still considered
that way.

But over time,
the poor farm system
collapsed.

[narrator] Global events
like the First World War
and the Great Depression

[narrator] Global events
like the First World War
and the Great Depression

conspired to increase
the pressure
on the care system,

leading some to champion
a controversial
new approach

known as eugenics.

[Alicia]
You have social scientists
looking at county homes

and homes
for the incurably ill

to say what is it
about these people

that makes them so.

The United States takes
some of this early charge
in the eugenics movement

and the movement
for compulsory sterilization

and the movement
for compulsory sterilization

of those who were deemed
genetically unfit
or institutionalized.

[Cindy]
This facility does not have
as negative of a history

as some of the others.

There are some poor farms
around the country

that people
who were in charge
were not nice people.

They did not take care
of the residents.

[narrator] While this site
escaped that horror,

it would still face struggles

that plagued
similar facilities
across the US.

Sadly, over the years,
with this place being
under such strain,

Sadly, over the years,
with this place being
under such strain,

there were reports
of violence, assaults,

and even suicides
at the property.

[Cindy]
In the 1950s, we've learned
of a gentleman

who didn't like it here.

It wasn't a locked facility,

he could have walked
out the front door
anytime he wanted.

Instead, he chose to leave
by hanging himself,

and he did hang himself
in a small room

at the end of the hall
on the first floor.

[Alicia] When you have
a stressed infrastructure

[Alicia] When you have
a stressed infrastructure

that is caring
for so many
different people

with so many different
needs,

it unfortunately means
that most of these people
aren't getting

the kind of care
that they need, that's
individualized to them.

[narrator] One room
found in the basement,
added in the late 1960s,

speaks
to those troubling times.

[Cindy] This room here
was the original
padded room.

Back then,
if you were out of control,

they would grab you
and put you
in a straitjacket

and then they'd put you
in a room like this.

and then they'd put you
in a room like this.

And then
you would have sat here

until you
could calm yourself down,

and then
they would let you out.

[narrator]
For almost 100 years,

this building moved
with the times,

accepting new patients,

adapting its layout
and trialing
new approaches.

But finally, in 2010,
Edinburgh Manor's days
were numbered.

While advances

and improvements
to the care system
continue,

many issues remain
to be confronted.

[Alicia]
We still have a legacy of
those institutions today.

We have hospice care,
we have nursing homes,

we have all of these
other institutions

where we put people
who cannot care
for themselves.

But we also have a history
of mass incarceration
in our country.

And depending
on what source
you look at,

10% to 30%
of those inmates
have mental illness.

10% to 30%
of those inmates
have mental illness.

So have we reformed
our institutions,

or are we
just reshaping them
in new forms?

[Polly] I think the stories
that are linked
to this house

about its haunted past,
still haunt us today,

because we're still dealing
with so many
of the same problems.