Whitby Psychiatric Hospital
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Location | |
|---|---|
| Place | Whitby Ontario, (Canada) |
| Organisation | |
| Care System | Public Medicare (Canada) (OHIP) |
| Hospital Type | Specialist |
| Affiliated Med.Sch. | Unknown |
| Services | |
| Emergency Dept. | No |
| Beds | Unknown |
| Speciality | Psychiatric hospital |
| History | |
| Founded | 1911 |
| Closed | 1995 |
| Links | |
| Website | Homepage |
| See also | Hospitals in Canada |
Whitby Psychiatric Hospital was located in Whitby, Ontario. Construction of the Ontario Hospital for the Insane began around the time of World War I. It was designed as a series of cottages and sane-looking buildings to help advance the patients' return to society. The prisons and lunatic asylums that they otherwise would have had to endure at the time are considered barbaric by today's standards.
[edit] History
The vast majority of the buildings at the Ontario Hospital for the Insane were linked via underground steam tunnels. The hospital was later renamed Whitby Mental Health Centre.
Over the years, the hospital was home to many. But, like all things, it began to age beyond the will to repair. Some of the cottages were condemned in the early 80's. In the early 90's, a proposal was made for a new and improved home for the mentally unstable. This involved the tearing down of the main admitting and treatment buildings of Whitby Psychiatric Hospital and building a new building. This building was to be renamed the Whitby Mental Health Centre.
In December of 1995, the new hospital was complete enough to begin transfer of service. By late January, 1996, the tenants and services had been completely moved out of the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital and into the newer Whitby Mental Health Centre. All of the doctors went home one night with orders to return to the new building the next day, and later that night the workers at the Powerhouse shut down the main generating engine and left the old buildings in darkness and cold.
Slowly, over the last 10 years, urban sprawl crept onto the land and required the removal of another admitting building. Rust, peeling paint, broken windows and spraypaint tags collected over time in the remaining buildings. Rainwater and melting snow flooded basements and the like. In July, 2005, the decision was made to tear down most of the abandoned buildings in favour of a lakeview condominium. As of May 24th, 2006, only 2 buildings remain on this site.
- Building 12; formerly an amalgamation of a rehab centre, a pastoral service building, and a sendoff for the rehabilitated adolescent patients.
- Building 22; what was once home to the education services branch.
On an interesting note, 2 (possibly 4, though it hasn't been confirmed) out of the 7 original utility buildings are in continued use for the new subdivision and the Whitby Mental Health Centre.
On an even more interesting note; the video Try Honesty by Billy Talent was filmed on localtion in whitby psych.
