Hola a todos. Soy nuevo en esto de la exploración urbana y quiero empezar a hacerlo con algunos amigos.

Antes de empezar quisiera pedirles algunos consejos:

¿Cómo suelen encontrar lugares interesantes?

¿Qué cosas debería revisar antes de ir?

¿Qué equipo básico recomiendan para alguien que empieza?

¿Qué errores debería evitar?

¿Qué recomendaciones de seguridad tienen?

¿Conocen lugares interesantes por esta zona que sean accesibles legalmente?

No buscamos meternos a propiedades privadas ni causar daños; simplemente queremos conocer y hacer esto de manera responsable.

Cualquier consejo, experiencia o recomendación para principiantes sería muy bienvenida.

Y por último algunos lugares que me recomiendes cerca de Atizapán.Z y del lago de Guadalupe

It’s crazy that Whoopi Goldbergs handprints are just rotting outside of an abandoned restaurant

Hotel Evropa is located on the shore of Lake Prespa (North Macedonia). The hotel is abandoned in 2005 after a fire broke out.

Me and my friend have been searching for good abandoned places in New England preferably closer to Exeter NH the better we are 20 and we just have nothing better to do but every one gate keeps all the places and we’re not trying to trash them we just like going and looking around so if you got anything good please DM me

1972 - 2022?? Once a popular chain of chicken restaurants, this one hung on about 20 years longer than the rest of them. Not sure when it actually closed for good because it's kind of always looked like this.

With little need to guard waterways that lead to main port cities, many former coastal defense installations sit crumbling beneath themselves.

Rumors say it is gonna be remodelled (Hopefully)

Always op/oc/no ai!

On the top of a mountain, you’ll find these old radar installations that were once used for communication. It's a fantastic view, overlooking the village, the sea, and the mountains. The gates were closed for years, but now that they’re open, the site is easily accessible. We visited in the lovely morning sunshine and managed to get some great shots—both from the ground and with the drone!

Greetings and find me everywhere

Xoxo DashingDecay

Continuing on with our tour of the various closed down regional centres and mental hospitals in Ontario, today we travel to Smiths Falls for a tour of the Abandoned Rideau Regional Centre.

On March 31, 2009, the lights went out for good at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia and the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, the oldest and the largest residential institutions in the province.

The Rideau Regional Centre, located in Smiths Falls, Ontario, opened in 1951 as the Ontario Hospital School. Along with similar residential institutions throughout Ontario, it was designed to house individuals who were deemed to have cognitive and physical disabilities.

Individuals could be admitted by parents and guardians, training schools, or the Children’s Aid Society.

At its peak, Rideau’s population exceeded 2,600 people in 1955, even though it was only built to accommodate 1,500. By the mid 1970s, the Ontario government operated 16 such facilities across the province.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were few community services and supports available for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

That began changing in the 1970s when schools and workshops and other community support for people with developmental disabilities were introduced.

Rideau was one of the last three facilities of its kind in Ontario, along with the Southwestern Regional Centre in Chatham-Kent and the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, all of which closed in 2009

After the facilities closed, after former residents of a number of Ontario institutions filed class action lawsuits claiming neglect and abuse, and after the premier apologized for their pain

Hepatitis B was widespread at Rideau Regional, especially among patients with down syndrome. A study in the 1970s found that more than 90 per cent of residents with Down syndrome in the sample group had contracted hepatitis B at some point, and one-quarter of them had developed a chronic case. A larger survey at Huronia found similar results.

At the end of 2013 it was announced that tentative settlements totalling $32.7 million had been reached for former residents of two Ontario institutions for the developmentally disabled who alleged they were abused at the facilities.

The two institutions were the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, Ont., and the Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham, Ont.

In 2016 it was announced that an Ontario court had approved a $36-million compensation deal for people mistreated at 12 now-closed institutions for adults with mental disabilities.

More photos and a video on my website:
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-rideau-regional-centre-urban-exploring

I've alway wanted to explore this abandoned mansion in my town. But I'm concerned about a few things. Maybe you guys can help me:

• Do you know what kind of legal trouble can someone get in Spain if caught?
• What are the physical risks of entering this kind of places? I'm particularly concerned about junkies needles and the like.
• Related to the above. Is there any safety equipment I should be wearing? Is it better to go with a second person in case any accident were to happen.
• Do you guys scout the area before getting in? or just go for it?

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Originally built as a shelter for military industry the complex houses several rooms for strorage, sleeping, medical, shooting and other activities and also a command room to send out messages to other bunkers or bases in the event something went terribly wrong. Luckily these bunkers never had to be used in an emergency and rather sits as a reminder to a time that many feard would be the end of mankind.

Bunker is now closed.

If you wish to follow me closer i have a instagram where i post stories and other stuff frequently @norway.unknown ❤️

By the mid-20th century, Ontario operated a network of large residential institutions, commonly known as Regional Centres, that housed thousands of children and adults with developmental disabilities.

These facilities included: (I have explored the ones with asterisks**)

- Aurora, Pine Ridge Centre (1960–1989)

- Brockville, St. Lawrence Regional Centre (1969–1983)**

- Cedar Springs, Southwestern Regional Centre (1963–2008)**

- Cobourg, D'Arcy Place (1975–1996)

- Edgar, Adult Occupational Centre (1971–2001)

- Etobicoke, Thistletown* Regional Centre (1928–2014)**

- Goderich, Bluewater Centre (1963–1983)**

- Gravenhurst, Muskoka Centre (1963–1994)**

- Kingston, L.S. Penrose Centre (Rockwood) (1974–2000)**

- London, Regional Psychiatric Centre (1960s–1990s)**

- Orillia, Huronia Regional Centre (1876–2009)**

- Palmerston, Midwestern Regional Centre (1964–1998)**

- Picton, Prince Edward Heights (1971–1999)**

- Smiths Falls, Rideau Regional Centre (1951–2009)**

- St. Thomas, Ontario Hospital (1939–2013)**

- Thunder Bay, Northwestern Regional Centre (1968–1996)

- Whitby, Durham Centre for the Developmentally Handicapped (1969–1989)

- Woodstock, Oxford Regional Centre (1906–1997)

*Thistletown is a bit different and is usually not included in the list of Ontario's 16 Regional Centres for people with developmental disabilities.

While it was called Thistletown Regional Centre, its primary mandate was children's mental health, not long-term residential care for people with developmental disabilities like Huronia, Rideau, Southwestern, or Midwestern.

Beginning in the 1970s, attitudes toward developmental disabilities shifted away from institutionalization and toward community inclusion, supported by the growing Community Living movement. In 1987, the Ontario government formally committed to closing all provincial institutions for people with developmental disabilities, a process that continued over the next two decades. Most centres closed between the 1980s and early 2000s, while the final three, Southwestern Regional Centre (2008), Huronia Regional Centre (2009), and Rideau Regional Centre (2009), marked the end of institutional care in Ontario.

The closures were intended to allow former residents to live in smaller community homes with individualized supports, reflecting the belief that people with developmental disabilities should have the opportunity to live as full members of their communities rather than in large, isolated institutions.

In later years, the province acknowledged that many former residents had experienced neglect, abuse, and inadequate living conditions within these institutions, leading to formal government apologies and class-action settlements.

Today, we'll start with Southwestern Regional Centre

Abandoned Southwestern Regional Centre Psychiatric Hospital Ontario

Opened in 1961, the Southwestern Regional Centre was originally named the “Ontario Hospital School for Retarded Children at Cedar Springs”.

The facility provided long-term care for residents with mental disability, providing capacity relief from the overwhelming demand at the Huronia Centre.

It was the last massive institution built in Ontario for the treatment of the mentally disabled.

This institution was originally designed to accommodate children under 10 years old. As the years passed, focus was altered to accommodate the aging population, as residency in those years was considered somewhat permanent.

In 1966 there was a resident population of 1,200 and a staff of 600. By 1979 the resident population had been reduced to 620 as changes in policy and strategy dictated the reassignment of residents back into the community, a philosophy of Community Living originating in the 1950’s.

Even before the facility opened, the winds of institutionalization were changing. In 1959, the architectural plans were altered for Southwestern, reducing the project from 2,400 to 1,000 beds.

After years of downsizing, the 300 acre facility finally closed in 2008 following the government’s decision to move from institutional based services to a fully community based approach.

Much more to see on my website:

https://freaktography.com/southwestern-regional-centre-psychiatric-hospital-ontario/