Difference between revisions of "Portal:Featured Article Of The Week"

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{{FAformat
|Title= Yankton State Hospital
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|Title= Whitby Psychiatric Hospital
|Image= Yankton SD PC 1.jpg
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|Image= Whitadmin.jpg
 
|Width= 150px
 
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|Body= The completion of the railway into Yankton in 1873 gave added impetus to immigration and by 1878 the effect of the gold rush was reflected in the number of Dakota patients at St. Peter Hospital, totaling 22. Governor William A. Howard was advised in June by Minnesota that no more patients could be accepted after July 1 because of crowded conditions at that hospital and all Dakota patients would have to be removed by October 1, 1878.
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|Body= In 1911, the architect, James Govan, working with a team of advisory psychiatrists, physicians and government officials, presented his design for the Whitby Hospital. Govan's design called for a series of 16 cottages, each housing approximately 70 patients, situated in a village-like setting amongst winding treed avenues. While the exterior design of the cottages was strongly influenced by German architecture, any other similarity stopped there. Canadian physicians worked closely with their architect to make sure the Whitby Hospital would offer a calmer and more humane atmosphere for patients than other institutions they had seen in their travels. The buildings must be situated in such a way, said the physicians, that all wards in all cottages receive some form of direct sunlight, even during the shortest days. An overhead view of the site plan indicates that Govan did exactly that. The main group of cottages faced south west, slightly back from the shore of Lake Ontario.
  
The Governor contacted Iowa hospitals without success, then traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska, and found that institution overcrowded but by completing some unfinished rooms, accommodations were arranged for five patients until the following February. Another contract with Minnesota resulted in an extension until February 1, 1879, for removal of the patients from St. Peter.
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In the initial building stages, prisoners from nearby Central Prison supplied much of the labor. During later stages of construction, paid laborers and mechanics worked for wages ranging from $0.55 to $1.00 per hour. To ease the transfer of building materials from the local railway station a mile to the north east, workers built a narrow gauge trunk-line across several fields of pasture into the construction site.
  
Governor Howard searched for a building to be used for a hospital in nearby towns of Vermillion, Elk Point and Canton with no success. In Yankton, he found two large wooden buildings--one belonging to the city and one to the Territory that were built to house German-Russian? immigrants. The Governor secured the buildings and arranged to have them rebuilt on school lands north of Yankton at personal expense, a total of $2,286.85. The thirteenth session of the Dakota Territory Legislature met on January 14, 1879, and in the Governor’s message he advised the lawmakers of his action and the necessary laws were passed.
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As it turned out, this trunk-line became an invaluable aid in Whitby's first construction. From the outset, builders recognized the fact that enormous amounts of sand and gravel would be necessary to make the concrete needed for the foundations of buildings.During the initial stages of construction they discovered a method of mechanically scooping this sand and gravel out of the Whitby Harbour and, by using the rail system, they were able to transport it easily from the shore to the sand-sifter where it was drained, sifted and mixed with cement to make concrete. Many of the necessities needed for building were taken care of right on the grounds. [[Whitby Psychiatric Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
During the first six months there were five employees; and, 31 patients were cared for, five being discharged, fully recovered. The appropriation for the first two years was inadequate and citizens generally did not realize that patients needed much more than food and clothing so future legislatures were inclined to reduce recommended allowances for their care, treatment and support. [[Yankton State Hospital|Click here for more...]]
 
 
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Revision as of 04:15, 4 July 2011

Featured Article Of The Week

Whitby Psychiatric Hospital


Whitadmin.jpg

In 1911, the architect, James Govan, working with a team of advisory psychiatrists, physicians and government officials, presented his design for the Whitby Hospital. Govan's design called for a series of 16 cottages, each housing approximately 70 patients, situated in a village-like setting amongst winding treed avenues. While the exterior design of the cottages was strongly influenced by German architecture, any other similarity stopped there. Canadian physicians worked closely with their architect to make sure the Whitby Hospital would offer a calmer and more humane atmosphere for patients than other institutions they had seen in their travels. The buildings must be situated in such a way, said the physicians, that all wards in all cottages receive some form of direct sunlight, even during the shortest days. An overhead view of the site plan indicates that Govan did exactly that. The main group of cottages faced south west, slightly back from the shore of Lake Ontario.

In the initial building stages, prisoners from nearby Central Prison supplied much of the labor. During later stages of construction, paid laborers and mechanics worked for wages ranging from $0.55 to $1.00 per hour. To ease the transfer of building materials from the local railway station a mile to the north east, workers built a narrow gauge trunk-line across several fields of pasture into the construction site.

As it turned out, this trunk-line became an invaluable aid in Whitby's first construction. From the outset, builders recognized the fact that enormous amounts of sand and gravel would be necessary to make the concrete needed for the foundations of buildings.During the initial stages of construction they discovered a method of mechanically scooping this sand and gravel out of the Whitby Harbour and, by using the rail system, they were able to transport it easily from the shore to the sand-sifter where it was drained, sifted and mixed with cement to make concrete. Many of the necessities needed for building were taken care of right on the grounds. Click here for more...