Looking for something interest to do with your leisure time this weekend?
On Sunday, Don Gillespie from the Burke Mountain Naturalists will lead a walk through the Riverview Hospital grounds and, with the aid of historic photos, point out some of the features of the hospital's significant landscape.
Some, such as stone walls built with help of patients, still remain in place while others, such as British Columbia's first botanical garden, are now gone. At almost 100 hectares, Riverview Hospital is Coquitlam's largest heritage site with a number of significant buildings.
Originally established in 1904 as Essondale, a hospital for the mentally ill, the site was planned to be an aesthetically pleasing and therapeutic landscape. A century ago in 1911, John Davidson was hired as B.C.'s first botanist. He came from Scotland to Essondale where, with the help of patients, he established B.C.'s first botanical garden and nursery, which soon contained 26,000 plants.
Essondale was designed in the manner of a gracious English country estate, with formal gardens, curved roads, grand views and an impressive tree collection. In 1921, when the provincial Boys Industrial School opened on the north end of the site, the formal gardens and road network were extended into this area. While the future of the site remains uncertain, the Burke Mountain Naturalists advocate for mental health services to continue to be provided in some of the Riverview's buildings.
Riverview Hospital is located along Lougheed Highway in Coquitlam. Two convenient access points, which both have traffic lights to facilitate turning, are located at Colony Farm Road on the south end and Orchid Drive on the north end.
The tour will start at 1 p.m. from the uphill side of the Henry Esson Young building, which is located about midway through the site. To reach this building, follow Holly Drive, the main road through Riverview, and turn uphill at Oak Crescent. A sandwich board will indicate this turn. The Henry Esson Young building will then be on the right and the uphill entrance can be reached by turning right on Kalmia Drive.
The guided walk will last for approximately two hours. Sturdy shoes are recommended as the ground is uneven in places and grassy slopes can be slippery.
For more information, visit www.bmn.bc.ca; for a site map, visit www.rhcs.org.
