Facility’s history

It began in

1844 when architect John George Howard won an award for designing what became the Lunatic Asylum of Upper Canada.

It opened in 1850.

In the late 1880s, the eastern wall was built by patients, separating the hospital from the neighbourhood and becoming a symbol of keeping the mentally ill behind barriers.

New buildings were constructed in 1972 and demolition of the old buildings began in 1975.

By 1987, the provincial auditor warned wards were overcrowded.

Since 1993, former psychiatric patients have held vigils at the wall annually on Psychiatric Survivor Pride Day to remember those who died in the institution.