The wrong name can make you… crazy?
Weston Hospital, a mental hospital in Weston, West Virginia, closed in 1994. Since then the enormous Gothic revival structure has sat vacant. Now, it’s re-opened as an historic site, and with its old name: the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.
From an AP story about it:
To some, the title acknowledges history by readopting one of the many names previously held by the long-vacant, 19th century mental institution known most recently as Weston Hospital.
But others say the new owners of the massive Gothic Revival hospital have gone too far, disparaging the suffering of former patients and reopening wounds with planned events like “Psyco Path” dirt bike races on the grounds.They say words like “lunatic” and “retarded” have gone the way of “colored” and “Negro” — and should never be resurrected.
The new owners don’t agree.
The daily tours that began last week — which cost $10 to $30, depending on duration — focus on issues such as the evolution of mental health care, the Civil War, the Great Depression, even architecture.
“Not one person who has gone through this place and taken the tour has said that one thing was offensive,” Jordan said. “It’s not a freak show.”
So is it engaging, or offensive? I think the big lesson here is that testing names is a good idea. Even a quick focus group would have been a good idea. And don’t forget - sometimes names have implications you don’t even know about. (I’m reminded of a story fellow opinionated marketer Maureen has told me about a meeting where one of her colleagues suggested calling a product “Final Solution.” You know, because it’s the last one you’ll need. Oops.)
On a side note, I asked a friend of mine who grew up in Weston if he’d hear about the controversy. His report: “the ladies in the bridge club don’t care what it’s called.”
(Via Maple Creative)
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John,
From my 10,000 feet (not to mentioned several thousand miles away) vantage point, I was all set to present a serious reflection on how the original name of the place is part of the story; how it was, itself, an interesting commentary on the evolution of mental health and society’s perceptions of mental illnesses.
I was prepared to give the new owners the benefit of the doubt, assuming the conscious decision to use that name was intended to provoke thought, in keeping with the other weighty issues supposedly touch upon during the tours. (Even if “the Great Depression” is kind of an ironic inclusion, given the facility.)
I was even ready to denigrate the opinions of focus groups as far too superficial a judgment to consider in pursuit of this higher purpose.
Then came the “Psycho Path” dirt bike races held on the property. Case closed! Offensive! String ‘em up!
John-
Thanks for pickup up our post. Credit should be attributed to the author, Jason Keeling, my friend and colleague. I’m sure he’d be thrilled if you left a comment on his blog post at Marketing Genius. By the way, great blog you have here. I just subscribed via RSS. Really nice layout/GUI.
Best regards,
Skip
HI Skip - thanks. Credit for our layout goes to Nathan Rice (credit in the footer), a Wordpress theme designer who I have never met but who seems to really know his stuff. Sorry to have not credited Jason specifically, and thanks for correcting that!