Oct 282010
 

On our return visit to the US we stopped by the Hospital that we saw in July.  We saw about 25% of it back in July and wanted to see the rest.  This hospital is the most intact abandoned hospital I have ever seen.  There is so much equipment left.  It is hard to believe that there wasn’t any effort to sell some of this equipment off.

I am not sure when this hospital closed, but I would assume sometime in the late 80’s or early 90’s.  There isn’t any computer equipment that I recall seeing so I think it is safe to say it closed in that time period as that’s about as late as I can imagine a hospital still not using computers.

The hospital surprisingly still has all kinds of patient files lying around which seems like a major breach in patient confidentiality.  Now I am not aware of US law in regards to patient files however it’s a common site.   I have found all kinds of confidential personal information laying around many different abandoned sites.

I recall seeing all kinds of records in Providence Hospital in Moose Jaw when I explored it in November 2005.  I photographed it and reported it to the Saskatchewan Privacy Commissioner in 2006 shortly after the hospital was razed.  The Saskatchewan Privacy Commissioner disputed my photos and the dates and said I must be mistaken.  They insisted the hospital was demolished in September 2005 even though I have photos of it’s demolition in Sept 2006.   So much for doing the right thing when nothing happens because of it and you are basically called a liar.

Hospital 1

Treatment room near the entrance

Hospital 10

Looking from the surgical area towards the cafeteria

Hospital 3

Most doors were fairly well secured

Hospital 2

This appears to be the nurses call station.  I assume when you pushed the nurse call button in one of the rooms it would come to this unit.

Hospital 13

Front of the Hospital and what remains of the sign

Hospital 12

Scrub up area adjacent to the operating room

Hospital 11

Another shot in the OR

Hospital 9

Laboratory – lots of patient files from the early 1970’s

Hospital 7

X-ray machine

Hospital 8

Controls from X-ray.  There were two identical X-ray – however one room had no equipment left.

Hospital 6

Dentist Chair

Hospital 4

Most of the rooms still had beds in them.  Unusual as most abandoned hospitals I have been in have no beds left.

Hospital 5

Shredded curtains blowing in the prairie wind

 Posted by at 08:41
Oct 252010
 

Here are some more shots from the Residential School in MB

School 1

Front Entrance

School 2

Back of the building – Auditorium on the left

School 3

Girls washroom in the basement – showers through the doors in the background

School 4

Second floor hallway

School 5

First floor hallway

School 6

Basement lights

School 7

Laundry room (Drier and an iron)

School 8

Kitchen

School 9

Girls showers

School 10

Dining hall under front entrance

 Posted by at 07:17
Oct 212010
 

I have always been interested in the history around the Canadian Indian Residential School System.  It’s a part of history that I believe a lot of people would rather forget ever happened.  I kind of detest the way our society thinks in regards to negative history.  I believe that even though it is an ugly part of our history it is still a part of our history and should not be forgotten about.  In fact I believe that if we forget our mistakes then we run the risk making the same mistakes again.

Quoted from Wikipedia; “Founded in the 19th century, the Canadian Indian residential school system was intended to force the assimilation of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada into European-Canadian society. The purpose of the schools, which separated children from their families, has been described as killing the Indian in the child”

The last residential schools closed in 1996.  I know of a few of them that were very close to where I live however they are all long gone.  Recently I found out about one that is still standing in Manitoba.  Arilem and I decided to head out there to see it before the snow flies and our exploring slows down for the winter.  This school closed in 1970 and has been abandoned for as long as it was open.  It’s in pretty rough shape but that is to be expected considering it has been sitting there abandoned for 40 years.  We found some areas that are in very poor shape structurally and I am glad we got a chance to see it because I expect that it won’t be much longer before it is too dangerous to even consider entering the building.

Even as it stands I put my foot through a sub-floor in the basement which luckily was only about a foot above the concrete floor.  It still made my heart skip a couple beats and scared me a little.  I also found a staircase and floor in one area the noticeably sunk when I stepped on it.  This place has some of the sketchiest floors I have ran into while exploring.

School 10

The school was built on the edge of a valley overlooking the town.  So now you have this creepy imposing building easily viewable from the entire town.

School 9

Taken in the basement looking into the dining area at the end of the hall.

School 8

There were two stairwells like this – they were still very solid.

School 3

This mural is in the front entrance way –  it’s amazing to see something like this still so intact after 40 years of abandonment.

School 2

Another stair well shot

School 4

Auditorium – the floor in this room has collapsed in the one corner – just to the right of the stage.

School 7

Taken in one of the dorms.  They were all the same – the room on the left appears to be for whomever was supervising the children.

School 6

Looking up the driveway on the main entrance.

School1

Classroom – most of the classrooms were very gutted.  This one still looks like a classroom at least.

School 5

Looking out the front of the building towards town.

 Posted by at 07:39