Housed in one of the oldest buildings in the New World, The St. Irene Orphanage is a hulking structure of stone and metal. Originally built as an 18th century prison for wealthy offenders, the building later housed an asylum, followed by a sanitarium, and was finally bought by the Russian Orthodox Church and refashioned into St. Irene’s. Given the property’s history, it became a dumping ground for the wealthy of Columbia’s undesirable children: those with severe disabilities or mental illness.

Housed in one of the oldest buildings in the New World, The St. Irene Orphanage is a hulking structure of stone and metal. Originally built as an 18th century prison for wealthy offenders, the building later housed an asylum, followed by a sanitarium, and was finally bought by the Russian Orthodox Church and refashioned into St. Irene’s. Given the property’s history, it became a dumping ground for the wealthy of Columbia’s undesirable children: those with severe disabilities or mental illness.

Housed in one of the oldest buildings in the New World, The St. Irene Orphanage is a hulking structure of stone and metal. Originally built as an 18th century prison for wealthy offenders, the building later housed an asylum, followed by a sanitarium, and was finally bought by the Russian Orthodox Church and refashioned into St. Irene’s. Given the property’s history, it became a dumping ground for the wealthy of Columbia’s undesirable children: those with severe disabilities or mental illness.