As a naturalist, I am usually alarmed when an animal or plant species gets pushed to the top of the most endangered list. But for Riverview Hospital, such a listing can only be a good thing because it will bring much-needed public attention to its future.
Thus, at the end of June, I was delighted with the announcement that the Heritage Canada Foundation had placed Riverview Hospital at the top of its list of most endangered heritage sites in Canada.
Some people in the Tri-Cities will be familiar with Riverview's fabulous tree collection and groomed green spaces, which offer such a soothing reprieve from the stresses of modern life. But as noted by Heritage Canada, Riverview also deserves recognition for its elegant collection of buildings and inspired social history.
After all, Riverview was at the forefront of North American mental health care for much of the 20th century. For several years, it was a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of British Columbia and also provided training for psychiatric nurses. While people in our community may value Riverview mainly for its trees and serene landscapes, the Heritage Canada Foundation nomination made particular mention of its "high-quality architecture, orchestrated for many decades with remarkable consistency in scale and materials."
Without a doubt, the visionary pioneers responsible for creating Riverview built the site to endure and intended the hospital to serve the residents of British Columbia for decades, if not in perpetuity. A key figure was Dr. Henry Esson Young, one of the most influential provincial bureaucrats in B.C. in the early 1900s. He established both UBC and Riverview, which was originally named Essondale in his honour. He hired John Davidson, the province's first botanist, who developed B.C.'s first botanical garden at Riverview (now at UBC) as well as G.K. McLean, a landscape architect who designed both the new hospital grounds and the UBC campus.
Dr. Esson Young's ideas for mental health care were highly innovative for the time. Developed in partnership with Dr. Charles Doherty, it called for patients to receive gentle care, which included nutritious food, fresh air, outdoor exercise and regular routines. The nutritious food was grown at Colony Farm (then part of Essondale) with help of the patients. Landscaping on the Riverview grounds, reminiscent of an English country estate, was intended to provide uplifting but comforting surroundings to aid in the recovery of patients. Having had a parent who suffered from dementia for several years, I can certainly attest to the calming influence of walking through graciously landscaped grounds with colourful flowers and the dappled shade of mature trees complemented by birdsong and breezes rustling the leaves.
While the ideas of these early planners for mental health care at Riverview have certainly withstood the test of time, dismay is high in this community that Riverview Hospital will not. It is perplexing such a haven for mental wellness is closing despite an urgent need for more health care beds for the mentally ill, including the homeless and older patients besieged with dementia. It is quite baffling to have the Riverview site, which is perfectly designed for their care and home to some still very functional buildings, now essentially devoid of patients.
The provincial government, after wrapping up its Heritage Conservation Planning process in September (participate online at www.riverviewvalues.info), intends to move into future land use planning at rather alarming speed, with the intended goal of concluding this process by the end of 2012. Many people feel the past use of Riverview was its best and highest use and would like to see the site remain as a centre for mental health care.
TAKE A WALK AT RIVERVIEW
Over the summer, the Riverview Horticultural Centre Society will continue to conduct free tree tours at Riverview, including one this Sunday afternoon at which the linden trees are expected to finally be in full bloom (for more information, visit www.rhcs.org). In addition, on Aug. 19, the Burke Mountain Naturalists will offer a heritage tour of Riverview's buildings (outside only); visit www.bmn.bc.ca for more details. Participating in these tours provides opportunities for members of the public to become acquainted with the nuances of this complex site and better prepared to provide input on its heritage conservation values and future uses.
