Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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The Evolution of Healthcare Services

Photos and transcription by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted January, 2016

Photo Source - Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

Here on the Bridgepoint Hospital site on the south side of a pedestrian walkway (Bridgepoint Drive) north of the old Don Jail can be found this plaque. Here's what it tells us:

Coordinates: 43.666237 -79.354742

Click here for a larger map

This site, which is now home to Bridgepoint Active Healthcare, has a long history of addressing Toronto's most pressing social and healthcare issues.

In 1856, the City of Toronto purchased this land from the Scadding family. The city immediately began plans for a new jail and house of refuge. The site was then outside of the city, surrounded by forests and fields. It was beside the Don River, which was considered an excellent setting to promote moral and physical health.

The city built the House of Refuge in 1860 to care for the "poor, needy, and disabled." Then in 1872, an outbreak of smallpox meant that patients had to be treated in isolation. The House of Refuge shifted its focus to caring for them. By 1891 the facility was also caring for people with other contagious diseases such as diphtheria, polio, and scarlet fever. It became known as the Isolation Hospital. A brand new facility was built in 1893, and by 1904 it was known as Riverdale Isolation Hospital.

Over the next 50 years the facility kept changing to meet the needs of the community. It created a training school for nurses in 1894. New buildings with more beds were built in 1911. A measles ward was built in 1927.

Renamed Riverdale Hospital in 1957, the care mandate was expanded to include chronic illnesses and rehabilitation services. It specialized in orthopedics, surgery, oncology, neurotrauma, amputees, post-cardiac patients, and palliative care.

Today, Bridgepoint Active Healthcare is a global leader in research and treatment of complex health conditions and rehabilitation.

Here is a map and a list of all the plaques on the Bridgepoint Hospital site. Links to the plaques can be found below.
Bridgepoint Site Map
Bridgepoint Plaque List

Links to plaques on the Bridgepoint Hospital site
History of the Bridgepoint Hospital Site
Doctors & Nurses
The Exercise Yards at the Don Jail
The Gate House at the Don Jail
The Governor's House at the Don Jail
The Landscape: Scadding's Property
Life: A Mosaic Tile Mural
Riverdale Hospital

More
Medical Buildings

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