minou sussies ([info]xkilla_kx) wrote in [info]abandonedplaces,
2008-02-21 17:40:00
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Riverview Mental Hospital

Riverview Mental Hospital
Vancouver, BC
(the largest mental institution in North America)

There are several buildings throughout the 1,000 acres of the hospital, some still house several hundred patients
The Westlawn building was built in 1913 & was closed in 1983. [pictured here in 1913]






how creepy is that...


main entrance


"West Lawn Building, this building is no longer in use for patient programs"


boarded up windows


once inside.


we shouldve been wearing these. the musty smell & asbestos presence was incredible


cages & shit


this was at the very top floor. the floor was severely decayed. we had to test it first before walking on it. i was so scared that i was going to fall through the floor. this giant room with tiny lil rooms. all the doors were labelled with room numbers such as "3D" shit like that. the rooms were smaller than a closet. you could not lay down. the thought of people being locked up in there blows my mind.


more of them


& that is how big each of them were


we were walking through this in the PITCH BLACK & stupid me was wearing flip flops


i seriously shrieked when the flash went off & i saw what this hallway looked like.


seeing this made me realize it really wasnt a good idea to be in there without masks


stairs, something scurried across my feet & i almost died


hazardous material suits hmmm


im not quite sure what this is...but now that i know that theres tunnels that connect between buildings


incognito

**EDIT**
I've included a map of the hospital grounds.
Several of these buildings are now abandoned.
I circled the building I entered in green.

Tags: canada

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[info]onelittlesleep

February 22 2008, 01:58:07 UTC 4 years ago

Awesome. These are fantastic. The photo you took of the front of the building is frightening.

I actually think these kinds of records of abandoned buildings not only show the decline and misuse of civic property, but also really allows the viewer to witness, in a behind-the-scenes way, the spatial reality of institutionalization and incarceration. It's fantastic. I mean, you guys spent a creepy night darting around in an abandoned asylum, and we get to see just what the hell asylum spaces are like, unadulterated.

It's cool!

[info]golly_cristina

February 22 2008, 01:58:17 UTC 4 years ago

that cage is scary!

[info]aquariumdrink_r

February 22 2008, 01:58:40 UTC 4 years ago

wow, that is one creepy building. i'd have been terrified walking through some of those parts! the building was even creepy when it was in use, haha!

[info]eat_your_lies

February 22 2008, 02:01:10 UTC 4 years ago

very creepy...the second and third pictures are eerily beautiful though

those rooms are appalling! There is no way that can be considered humane...

I hope the asbestos didn't get to you =/

[info]originalidad

February 22 2008, 02:05:11 UTC 4 years ago

you went there at night? scary! do you know anything about the history of this place? they really kept patients in cages and locked them in closets?

[info]xkilla_kx

February 22 2008, 03:48:59 UTC 4 years ago

I don't know too much about the history.
I have no idea if they locked people in those tiny rooms but there were SO many of them that it just didn't make sense that they'd have that many closets especially when they were all numbered.

[info]grab_that_dough

February 22 2008, 02:16:21 UTC 4 years ago

Cages!

[info]reallove

February 22 2008, 02:19:02 UTC 4 years ago

Wow! The 2nd hallway shot looks a bit like an elevator shaft! Took me a moment to get my bearings looking at it!

[info]misstiajournal

February 22 2008, 02:19:55 UTC 4 years ago

the picture of the main entrance is the creepiest! awesome pix....

i hope the buildings still being used has bigger rooms! that's just CRIMINAL putting people in rooms like that...can you imagine being mentally ill and then shut into a closet? like that would HELP??? horrible....simply horrible...

if you go back, please wear shoes, a MASK, and disposable clothes!

[info]young_glass

February 22 2008, 02:29:00 UTC 4 years ago

These are incredible photographs. Good for you for going in there! I wouldn't have the guts.

Is the whole building abandoned? It looks fucking huge. I wish they could turn it into something good, something that could make a difference for people. Remove some of that horrible history.

[info]xkilla_kx

February 22 2008, 03:50:20 UTC 4 years ago

yes this whole building is abandoned and it is HUGE.
The hospital has tons of buildings and they closed a lot of them down & are still continuing to do so. I know some of the buildings are used a lot for filming.

[info]all_shine_on

4 years ago

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[info]dostoevsky_girl

February 22 2008, 02:37:13 UTC 4 years ago

wow, some very cool photos.

am i the only one who finds it weird that the "cage" looks almost decorated? those circular bits on it? maybe it was like- part of an elevator or something?

and those just-bigger-than-a-coffin isolation rooms are seriously freaky... yikes!

[info]kimi_chan

February 22 2008, 03:43:39 UTC 4 years ago

It looks to me like an elevator shaft, it has a ladder in it and you can see it running down beside the stairs in a couple of shots.

[info]jj_maccrimmon

February 22 2008, 03:02:22 UTC 4 years ago

Excellent shots! I'd agree that if the smell of mold and asbestos was strong, you probably should have at least had on a mask of some sort. The haz-mat suits on the floor in that one area are disposeable. It's possible that the site might have met the Provincial safety standards and they weren't necessary further.

[info]joybeans

February 22 2008, 03:20:37 UTC 4 years ago

Wow. This is amazing! I gotta say though, being crazy in 1913 sucked ass. :/

[info]frey_at_last

February 22 2008, 03:21:56 UTC 4 years ago

Is this the building they use for filming? Or a different one? It's hard to tell without a wider outside shot...

[info]xkilla_kx

February 22 2008, 03:52:02 UTC 4 years ago

They definitely film in other buildings, & maybe they used to film at the West Lawn building but I don't think they have in years because by the looks of it nobody had been in there in a long time.

[info]vision206

4 years ago

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[info]kimi_chan

February 22 2008, 03:42:44 UTC 4 years ago

Fantastic photos! What na incredible place. That pile of hazard suits is very ominious.
That cage is an elevator shaft though, nothing more. It even has a ladder in it.

[info]xkilla_kx

February 22 2008, 03:52:20 UTC 4 years ago

good to know it's not a creepy cage where they keep people haha

[info]doomsandwichx

February 22 2008, 04:06:20 UTC 4 years ago

Not to sound like a batshit crazy pagan here but there are some crazy-bad spirits in that building. Not neccesarially evil, just not...good.
1. Contact a leader of whatever religion it is you follow.
2. get your ass blessed/excercized.
That being said, those pictures are freaking awesome.

[info]xkilla_kx

February 22 2008, 04:09:56 UTC 4 years ago

haha I think I'm okay, those pictures are approx 2 years old and nothing has happened to me so far *knock on wood*

BUT I definitely did feel a presence in there if that makes any sense or maybe it was just me being extremely freaked out and my imagination running wild.

[info]doomsandwichx

4 years ago

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[info]worn_words

February 22 2008, 04:16:11 UTC 4 years ago

that is so freaky, but kudos for exploring (at night?) and not running away screaming like a small child.

[info]furikku

February 22 2008, 04:16:44 UTC 4 years ago

Absolutely beautiful site! And those pictures are lovely. Thanks for sharing! :D

[info]body_electronic

February 22 2008, 04:23:01 UTC 4 years ago

I cant believe you entered that building in flip flops and without a respirator/mask. hah

[info]eightwednesday

February 22 2008, 04:38:20 UTC 4 years ago

You've also got to consider that Riverview was, for many years, one of the primary sites that shows including the X-Files and the Outer Limits were shot at therefore many of the abandoned buildings have been modified for use in those shows.

I have a tradition with my dad, every Boxing Day we skulk around Riverview. We've done it for several years now, we've only been asked to leave once.

It has a much better reputation than Woodlands, which is only about a 15 minute drive from Riverview.

I'm not sure this is the biggest psychiatric institution in North America, though. Having visited some of the institutions in Massachusetts I'm just not sure. Though it could have the largest physical land claim as much of the land on the other side of Lougheed Highway technically is owned by Riverview vis-a-vis the BCBC as technically Colony Farm is also part of the claim. It could also have the most square-footage of an institution still in active use--though many of the buildings on the campus are used for other purposes. For example, the highly regarded urban search and rescue in Vancouver meets and trains out of one of the buildings there.

[info]glass_doll

February 22 2008, 05:41:11 UTC 4 years ago

omg
so totally creepy

i love the main entrance photo. Its so intimidating!

and that hallway woulda made me pee myself in fear.
especially after seenig those cages!

Im totally jealous of your adventure and wish I was your friend <3

[info]ehekzpeekaboo

February 22 2008, 05:50:04 UTC 4 years ago

wow this is fascinating..

[info]kahoki

February 22 2008, 06:06:40 UTC 4 years ago

Many municipal institutions started off with large campuses in *nice* locations, as taking care of the mentally ill was considered a civic duty. Rising costs and the identification of hazardous materials like lead based paint and asbestos insulation resulted in many of these places being abandoned like this, as the cost of remediation superceeds the benifit of revitalizing them. Many of the old institutions in MA have been demolished or gutted to make way for condos.

From your photos, the cage is for an original elevator that used to run in the middle, the red box is an security/fire alarm box. Very cool composition on many of your images. Was there security about? It sems that setting off the flash in a pitch black building would alert them to your presence.

[info]scribbles_hb

February 22 2008, 06:17:47 UTC 4 years ago

man - i lived in vancity for 3 years. Where the hell is that?!

[info]eightwednesday

February 22 2008, 07:07:31 UTC 4 years ago

It's on Lougheed Highway headed east past Burnaby and into Coquitlam, just past the Port Mann Brige.

[info]scribbles_hb

4 years ago

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[info]eightwednesday

4 years ago

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[info]glenorglenda13

February 22 2008, 07:02:06 UTC 4 years ago

That's SO on my list of things to see whenever I make it back to BC.

[info]pinknoisebabie

February 22 2008, 07:18:57 UTC 4 years ago

i feel like i am in silent hill or something!
really awsome!
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