Rockwood Insane Asylum Upper Canada

Upper Canada's Rockwood Insane Asylum, open from 1859 to 1959, cared for the criminally insane. In fact, the hospital was built by the labor of those convicts by which the hospital was intended. Patients slowly moved in from 1859 through 1870.  The facility is considered a Kirkbride, although it may not represent the original Kirkbride designs in every respect.

Rockwood was Kingston, Ontario's asylum for 100 years, later transitioning into the Providence Continuing Care Centre - a community facility for those coping with mental disabilities. In 2000, the facility buildings were empty after 141 years of service to the surrounding community.

In 2011, Providence Care is beginning a new facility construction next to the original structures at Rockwood. It's hard to say at this time if they intend on preserving the original structures at Rockwood, or eventually demolishing them.

I'm hoping they will not be demolished. In the past 40 to 50 years until more recently, Canada seemed to demolish their historic structures, such as hospitals and prisons, rather promptly in comparison to the USA and certain European countries. However, these days, Canada is moving in a different direction regarding the preservation of historic landmarks.

But much depends on the structural integrity of the buildings, and if a demolition permit will be granted. However, it is also unfortunate Providence Care is going the route of building a new structure rather than revamping the original site as their new facility.

It usually turns out almost every time I've seen this approach taken with other care facilities the new facility is poorly constructed, and the overall cost is a lot more than the total cost of refurbishing the original facility back to its earlier days of splendor. I find this a misfortune.

There are few photos of Rockwood since its 2000 vacancy. The reasons behind this appear to be a very strict security patrol. But I'm not sure how many permissions they give to researchers and media at this time.  Evidently, paranormal investigators also haven't been granted any access or route to investigate as of yet.

So many of these historic monuments are severely restricted these days, especially over the last 5 years; it is rather unfortunate for those of us attempting to actually document something worthy of being documented. In many ways, it is partly due to the explosion of the popular urbex movement around the Internet, and young misplaced arson's reading about locations via the Internet, which were once more privately known about but suddenly everyone and their sister knew about. Locations were flooded, and often vandalized.

The Internet in the end has been the slow death for true explorers, and with the demolition of so many buildings already occurred and with so many more to come - even Beelitz around 2013 - I feel a sense of urgency as an era comes to a close never to be seen again. For those really into infiltration, I suppose it hold its charms.

I'm seeing more and more art exhibits these days reflecting urban explorer artistry. Sadly, I feel Canada overall missed out on this exodus of artistry and history married in spirit. In historical documents, there are various places in Ontario that declare they have no records, including photos, of past architecture, but at the same time Canada's policies, whether local, provincial or federal toward urban explorers has not been a welcoming partnership in the truest sense of historical collaboration.

Beelitz Germany does not restrict visitors to the hospital, where certain buildings are still in use, while others are vacant a good number of years. Some visitors are past patients, or families of past patients, others are photographers and explorers. I totally wish Canada and even parts of the USA had taken this approach, especially in facilities where parts of the facility are currently active.

It seems perfectly logical and even gracious to allow visitors, rather than the attitude of exclusivity and fear predominating the scene these days. After all, it is everyone's history and legacy, so why the stingy high security mentality? Once again, we are crossing the joining rivers, a crisis of delineating what is private property and what is societies common rights to access a heritage that so many would like us all to forget about, like it never existed.

But as much as we need the present and a strong future, we also need a map of our past. We need historians of all shapes and sizes. Not only those schooled with mainstream paradigms, but those of the collective. We need the postmodernists and neomodernists as much as the rest who help us interpret and deconstruct our collective histories of the urban environment, along with our collective interpretations of any societies view on madness at any given time in history. 

Dorothea Dix and Harrisburg State Hospital

Harrisburg State Hospital was the first insane asylum built in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania back in 1853, due to the efforts of advocate Dorothea Dix. Her petitions were successful and the first psychiatric hospital was founded in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania hospital was founded in 1845, and was originally named the Pennsylvania State Lunatic Hospital and Union Asylum for the Insane.

Later the hospital would become known as Harrisburg State Hospital due to the change in climate surrounding state hospitals and the mentally ill. The psychiatric hospital facilities cared for the mentally ill for over 150 years until its recent closing in 2006. Today different state agencies are utilizing the buildings for office space.

With over 8,000 miles of land originally, the campus size facility has often been aptly deemed the “City on the Hill”. It was one of the first designed Kirkbride buildings, erected in modest neo-classical design and completed in 1851 by architect John Haviland.

The design was not considered a total success when cottage style designs became popular in the 19th century; thus, the original Kirkbride building on campus dissolved by the early 20th century, and new buildings were installed.

The Dorothea Dix Library and Museum located on the campus facility recently closed, along with patient relocation with the closing of the facility in 2006. The library and museum were founded in 1853 for the recreation and education of patients, and was erected in the women’s reading room.

Visitations were by appointment only for the public, and held various historical artifacts of the history of insane asylums. Some artifacts were sent to be cleaned, others to various historical institutions. When we visited, the original library and museum were empty and under renovation within the interior.

Overall, we found the 200 acre facility much like a large educational campus, and in quite good shape due to state agencies occupying the facilities for office space. Harrisburg state hospital carries a warmer sense about it with small cottages dotted along the huge acreage, and hiking paths along dense forest patches.

The 50 remaining empty and occupied buildings are in very good condition set in a country setting. Perhaps this state reflects the true legacy of Dorothea Dix vision for better conditions for the underprivileged mentally ill. Not comprehending the later travesties, Ms Dix foresaw a comfortable space for the underprivileged, who previous to this era only saw the likes of poverty and neglect within hospital walls.

(Old post from older site)

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