Today a four-hour ride around Coquitlam, along the Fraser River, and up the Pitt River. But first we rode the grounds of the Riverview Hospital. The place started in the early 1900s. The big buildings were constructed starting in the 1920s. Up until about the mid-1990s it house upward of 2,300 patients. At its peak 4,600.
Now the buildings are shuttered, the inmates scattered. How many now live on the streets of East Vancouver, we wondered. The grounds are replete with big, old trees, many of which I have not seen before.
I am told that many would like to keep the place as is, a park. Many others would tear down the buildings and build houses for the wealth. Never again will those with mental afflictions live in this beautiful setting. Here are some pictures I took.
