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The Former Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital
Table of
Contents
Where was the hospital located?
It
was located at 3131 Lakeshore Boulevard West, at the northeast corner of
Lakeshore Boulevard West and Kipling Avenue, in the former village of Mimico
and later in the city of Etobicoke. Now Etobicoke is a part of Metropolitan
Toronto. It is interesting to note that the original address of the
institution is not used anymore, either by Humber College or the Gatehouse.
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When was it built?
The
construction started in around 1881 and was completed in 1889. The Assembly Hall was
built in 1897 and the Gatehouse in 1899. It is important to mention that the
asylum was built by using cost-free patient labour from the original Toronto
Hospital for the Insane, located at 999 Queen Street West. The doctors of that
time believed that “meaningful,” and, at the same time, unpaid work, was a
source of very effective therapy. In reality, it was an excuse for patient
exploitation.
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Why was it built in Mimico?
The
asylum was a branch of the Toronto Hospital for the Insane. It was believed
that by transferring the incurably insane to Mimico, the more healthy patients
would be able to recover faster. Mimico was chosen for its prevailing rural
landscape, it was close to “999,” and it was thought that the patients
would benefit from it. Lastly, mental health patients were often target of
ridicule; this shows the general ignorance and cruelty of society at that
time.
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Who was the designer?
The
designer was the Irishman Kivas Tully, the provincial architect. Reportedly,
he was proud of
his achievement.
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When was it closed down?
Despite
an active protest of some staff, patients, and local residents, the
hospital was closed down on September 1, 1979 with the decision of the Ministry
of Health.
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Why
was the hospital closed down?
It was closed down due to the prevailing (mostly governmental) philosophy of
deinstitutionalization. It was believed that the patients would benefit more
by living in the community as opposed to being locked up in an institution.
However, today it is known that the process did not benefit the vast
majority of patients, since many of them became homeless. Some were
transferred to Whitby and Hamilton Psychiatric
Hospitals.
Out-patient psychiatric clinic was opened at Lakeshore Boulevard West.
Furthermore, running of a mental hospital required large sums of money from
the government.
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As
stated above, and as it was the case with other psychiatric hospitals, many of
the patients became homeless. Severely ill were sent to Whitby Psychiatric
Hospital, Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital, and to Queen Street Mental Health Centre.
An outpatient
psychiatric clinic, today known as
Lakeshore Outpatient Clinic
(LSOP) was opened at
3170 Lakeshore Boulevard West.
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Sadly,
like with many old, abandoned institutions, it became a shelter for the
homeless and drug users. During the Eighties, the grounds were used by a
number of corporations to shoot movies, such as The Police Academy
(more movies were filmed there, but more research is needed).
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Is
it true that the patients were tortured?
It
solely depends on the perspective that one is looking from. Some would argue that lobotomy, electroconvulsive
shock treatment, restrains, isolation, and insulin therapy, along with
marijuana and alcohol greatly benefited the patients and helped them to
recover. However, it has to be noted that throughout its history the hospital was severely overcrowded and excessively
understaffed, especially during the Great Depression.
Therefore, it is possible that these questionable psychiatric practices (such
as electroshock or lobotomy) were performed on the patients who otherwise would have been better off without them.
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Is
it really haunted?
Some
of the present staff and students of Humber College do claim that the former
cottages are really haunted. For more information, please go to
Haunted?
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Where
were the patients buried?
The
patient without any family or resources were buried to rest at the hospital's
cemetery,
located at the corner of Evans and Horner Avenues, about 5 kilometers north of
the asylum. Sadly, since 1979, the cemetery has been abandoned by the
"Government of Ontario" and only recently some action has been taken by social activists.
(It
is also interesting to note that the coffins were made by the patients themselves
at the carpentry shop and traditionally they did not receive any wages for their work.)
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Why
is the cemetery so far from the hospital?
There
are several possible reason for the distant location of the cemetery. The soil
at the present site is of very poor quality and probably the asylum's
authorities wanted all the 125 acres of the farm to be used by patients. Secondly,
when the cemetery was set up, the area between the site and the hospital was
used for farming, but gradually it was all sold to developers. Lastly, it is
also possible that the authorities simply did not want to have a cemetery near
the hospital not to upset patients.
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What
is the Lakeshore Asylum Cemetery Project?
We
are an active group of volunteers whose goal is to restore, preserve, and to
draw public and provincial attention toward the current state of the cemetery.
For more information, please go to
Lakeshore Asylum Cemetery Project.
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Do
tunnels really exist?
Yes.
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Is
there a memorial?
Yes,
there is a memorial located near the Assembly Hall.
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Why
was the acronym ‘LSPH’ used instead of ‘LPH’?
‘LPH’
was used for Lakehead Psychiatric Hospital. To avoid confusion, Lakeshore
Psychiatric was referred to as ‘LSPH’ ( but in reality, “lake” and “shore” are two
separate words).
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Is
it possible to see the interior of the buildings?
No.
Humber College is not willing to let anyone in. I, the author of this project, have
only been inside once. If you really want to see the buildings, watch the
first film in the series of the Police Academy, you will
actually see more than you think! As a researcher, I really
wanted to see the old buildings in their original conditions, but it is
considered too dangerous.
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Is
there anything left in the old buildings?
Possibly.
Sue Darroch, senior investigator and researcher at
Toronto Ghosts and Hauntings Society, visited the former Cottages 1 and 2
(building H) back in 2002, and our correspondence reveals that there were
"beds, photographs, bits of clothing, tables, chairs, various other bits
of furniture and bric brac, some medical equipment, patients drawings still on
the walls, marked calendars, books, and even old files lying about in various
states of decay. That was, of course, aside from the garbage and other items
more easily attributed to a homeless encampment." The Administration
Building, located in the centre of the cottages, looks empty from the outside,
so only former Cottages 3 and 5 may contain something left behind.
It
is also interesting to note that one interviewed young
woman, who grew up in the neighbourhood, said that she went inside the
buildings about eleven years ago. The doors were opened, so she entered along
with her brother. Despite being scared, they were equally curious, as they had
heard various legends about the former asylum. Together, they went upstairs
and they noticed an old bed, a nurse’s old hat, and a smashed red closet.
Also, all the time the building was making “scary” noises, which echoed in
the long-abandoned wards (however, it is commonly known that all old buildings
make allegedly “unexplained” sounds). Yet, correspondence
with Ian Smith, the principal of the Lakeshore Campus reveals however that
there is nothing left in the old buildings: “everything was removed years
before Humber College acquired the site.”
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All old
buildings, except buildings G (the former Administrative Building), I
(the former cottage 3), and K (the former cottage 4) have been renovated.
Since the site was designed as a heritage property, the exterior of the
buildings have not been altered. However, the interior of all the restored
buildings has been dramatically changed. Humber College needs $22 million to
complete the ongoing reconstruction, as it is evident that it would have been
more efficient to demolish the old hospital and build a new campus.
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