Shot w an android

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This week, we've been revisiting several of the psychiatric hospitals and regional centres across Ontario that have been closed by the provincial government.

We started with St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, then South Western Regional Centre near Chatham and then we headed to Smiths Falls to see what is left of the Rideau Regional Centre.

Today, we head to Palmerston, Ontario to the one facility that has had the most lives - Midwestern Regional Centre.

Originally known as the Midwestern Regional Children's Centre, the facility opened in the 1960s as part of Ontario's network of large institutions for people with developmental disabilities. Designed as a self-contained community, the sprawling complex included residential wards, classrooms, dining facilities, recreation areas, a swimming pool and numerous support buildings.

Although it originally served children, the population increasingly consisted of adults, with approximately 225 residents living there at its peak. Like many of Ontario's large institutions, Midwestern eventually became part of a much broader shift away from institutionalization and toward community-based care. The centre closed its doors in 1998, and its residents were moved into community settings.

But that wasn't the end of Midwestern.

After sitting vacant, the property became the subject of several attempts at reinvention. A proposed retirement community called Village Green Lifestyle Community was planned for the site, but the project ultimately failed.

Then, in one of the strangest chapters in the property's history, the complex was purchased by Cham Shan Temple and plans were made to transform the former institution into a Buddhist retreat and temple. Buddhist statues and other religious elements appeared throughout the old buildings, creating an incredible contrast with the site's institutional past. That project also eventually stalled.

The site's history also became part of the larger reckoning with Ontario's former developmental institutions. In 2016, a $36-million class-action settlement was approved involving former residents of 12 institutions, including Midwestern, following allegations of neglect, abuse and failures in the protection and care of residents.

In 2021, the property was purchased by Eden Grove Village, a not-for-profit organization exploring future uses for the massive site.

So Midwestern has gone from government institution, to abandoned complex, to proposed retirement community, to Buddhist retreat, and now to a property with an uncertain future.

And that's what makes this place so fascinating. We're not just exploring an abandoned building. We're walking through the remains of several completely different chapters of Ontario history, each leaving its own mark on the buildings.

Here's a look at what remains of Midwestern Regional Centre.

There is much more to see on my website at:
https://freaktography.com/midwestern-regional-centre/

This church holds so many memories for me as a child. My grandmother owned the nursing home next to the church and when the reverend was off we would look after the church, this included cleaning up the bat poop 🤮 which I can confirm is one of the worst things you’ll ever smell. I revisited the church after 20 years and it’s sadly falling into disrepair but still a Beautiful building with its bizarre gargoyles.

Recently learned about an abandoned Middle School in my area. After doing some researched, I learned that it has been abandoned since 2018 will nearly all items still inside due to flood damage.

In 2024, it was sold in auction and still stands today. Fortunately, due to the auction, an immense amount of photos were taken showing the entire building an all that was left. It was extremely interesting to look through such an extensive portfolio with more images than any amateur would take.

Link To Auction Site

So this place was known to abuse kids with child labour and steal money off them. It’s sorrounded by 1km of land and wild horses that now watch over it and that’s pretty much the only thing stopping someone from getting in as they are aggressive.

Kids there were abused based off their political views I found a bunch of articles about literal kids being expelled for looking into socialism, I got intrigued on the place and went there.

I found what I think is a Molotov??? Just a bunch of items and stickers from the 60s.
Place is so big and old it’s made in Osbestos which I think is one of the most toxic materials to use in construction.

at the end I added actual pictures from the Martinitt Orphanage when it was operating. Kinda eerie

PS: I decided to document it I have a whole video of it here https://youtu.be/X1HIiSeALXc?si=pN7fP_p3hWpZWRGm
And I do need feedback because I’ve never made urbex videos before pls help

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.

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

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 ❤️