A debate about the power of words is raging over the property formerly known as the Weston Hospital. Under its new owners, it's called the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum.

That name is translating to Web hits, phone calls and tour tickets for the hospital's owners. They say they're recreating history by readopting one of its many past names.

But mental health advocates say it goes too far. They say the name denigrates the suffering of former patients and reopens painful wounds. They say words like "lunatic" and "retarded" should never be resurrected.

A half-dozen advocacy groups for the disabled are objecting. But operations manager Rebecca Jordan says there are no plans to change. She says you can't bury the parts of history you don't like.

Daily tours began last week for $10 to $30 depending on duration. They focus on the evolution of mental health care, the Civil War, the Great Depression, even architecture.