Whitby Free Press, Wednesday, October 19,.1994, Page 21 From dark asylums to open sp-ace 1919 opening marke n-ew ea _By Ingrid Gadsden Up until the late 1800s and even inte the early 1900s, people with mental ilînesses were often. treated as outcasts of society. Many were locked in. prisons or put away in what were tben called 'lunatic asylumns.' Within these institutions, care was often shoddy and* medical treatment rare. However, in 1919, when Whitby Psychatrie Hospital opened, a new era in the humane treatnient of -the mentally ilI began. One of the most refresbing aspects of Whitby was the physical site. Situated 50 kilometres east of Toronto and purcbased by the provincial government early in 1912, the grounds originally consisted of 640 acres of treed and fertile farmland tbat sloped gently to, Lake Ontario at the south. For patients wbo bad prvously been housed in dark, dakasylums with barred windows, Whitby offered fresh air, sunshine, space te walk.. and an opportunity to heal. In 1911, the archîtect James Govan, working with a team of advisory psychiatrists, physicians and. governinent officiais, presented bis design for tbe Whitby bospital. Govan's design cailed for a series of 16 large cottages, eacb bousing approximately 70 patients, situated in a village-like setting among winding treed avenues. While the exterior design of tbe cottages was strongly influenced by German architecture, any other similarity stopped there. Canadian physicians worked closely with tbeir architect te. make sure, the Whitby hospital would offer a calmer and more humane atmospbere for patients than other institutions they bad seen in their travels. The buildings must be situated in such a way,- said the phiysicians, that ail wards in al cottages receive some foi-m of direct sunlight, even during the shortest days. An overhead view of the site plan indicates that Govan did exactiy that. The main group of cottages faced southwest, slightly back from the shore of Lake O0ntario. To the east were views of Whitby Harbour; te the west, farrland and orchards; te the nortbeast, the railroad station and further nortb, the town of Whitby itself. No special ceremony accompanied the first ground-breaking.. On May 6, 1913, the first shovel dug inte the dirt and construction was underway. In the initial building stages, prisoners from nearby Central Prison suppiied much of the labour. During later stages of construction, 'paid labourers and mecbanics worked for wages ranging froni 55 cents te $1 per bour. To ease the transfer of building materials from the local railway station a mile to the northeast, workers built a narrow gauge trunk-line across several'fields of pasture te, the construction site. As it turned out, this trunk-line became an invaluablo aid in Witby's firat construction. From the outset, builders recognized the fact that enormous aznounts of sand and grqvel would be necessary te make the concrete needed for tlb., foundations of buildings. During the initial stages of constructiGn tbey discovered a niethod of mecbanically scooping thi2 sand and gravel out of Aýty Harbour and, bv using the rail system, they were able te transport it easiiy from the shore te the sand-silfter where it was drained, sifted and mixed with cernent te make concrete. 1'hroughout the deoedes, tens of Nousandsofpatients and healing at Whfby Psychiatric Many of the necessities needed for building were taken care of rigbt on the grounds. For instance, an on-site lumber miii turned out hundreds of windows and doors needed to meet the hospital's wocidwork requirements, and an on-site farmn, operated by government workers, provided ail the meat, vegetables and milk necessary te feed construction workers. Later on, this samne farm was-operated by staff and patients, and provided supplies for the bospita] population -- a practice that continued well into the 1960s. By October 1913, workers had completed foundations and erected walls te the second level for four cottages. Excavation of the dining hall was ýalso well underway. Aside from 16 cottages, Govan's design for the hospital called for a wide array of support buildings -- among tbem a powerhouse, a, sewage pumping bouse, twvo large infirmaries -- BUILDING THE hospital in 1913. Whiby Psychiatric Hospital Archives photo WHITBY PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL is holding an open house Sunday in building 30 to celebrate 75 years of service. The theme of the celebration, which runs from il. a.m. to 4 p.m., is 'Decades of Time.' Staff members, including Michelle Voorberg (above), will dress in period costume to represent the decades and Earl Pascoe will be on hand with his dlock display. There will be music by 'The Notables,' refreshments, pumpkin-carving, face-painting - even a visit by the Power Rangers. Photo by Mark Reesor, Whitby Fre. Press one each for male an-d female patients, a recreation bal, a tubercular and isolation bospital, a cburch and hall, greenhouses and a nursery, general stores and worksbops, a surgical and pathological building,, several kitcben and dining areas, docters' and nurses' residences, maie and female attendants' residences, residences- for officiais, a cold etorage plant and not leaet of al -- an adminstration building. At the end of 1913, seven months after construction bad begun, approximately 220 workers were engaged on the site -- over half of them prsoners. In 1914, war broke out. While construction continued at the bospital, progress was definitely slower. Over the next two years, however, as more and more buildings were completed, docters transferred psycbiatric patients from Toronto facilities te . the space and fresh air tbat Whitby offéred. By February 917, large numbers of soldiers were returning from overseas. Many were badly wounded and needed intense, long-term treatment. Since general hospitals were not equipped to meet such needs, the Military Hospitais Commission made arrangements to lease patient cottages for the purpose of treating wounded soldiers. Between 1917 and 1919, an estima ted 3,000 recuperating soldiers received care at wbat was temporarily renamed 'The Ontario Militai-y Hospital.' By July 4, 1919, ail had returned te After the soidiers had left, the hospital was reopened in October 1919 as 'a psychiatric facility. Prom opening day, every available bed space was occupied. Work continued oilt various buildings until. 1926. By 1927, administrators and other staff listed the officia] capacity of Whitby Psychiatric at 1,542, beds. In the years that followed, Whitby Psychiatric served a catchment area that at one time encompassed seven counties. Throughout the decades, tans of thousands of patients found solace, peace, refuge and bealing at Whitby Psychiatric. And al tbings considered, tbe buildings held up very well. By the mid 1980s, however, the -writing was on the wall. Many of the cottages were deteriorating rapidly -- a few, cited as unsafe and beyond repair, were permanently closed and secured. After almoet 75 years of constant use, Govan's design no longer reflected the rnost up-to-date attitudes"in the treatment of the eeriously mentally iii within our society. The time bad corne te build a new hospital.