Discover Toronto's history as told through its plaques

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Queen Street Mental Health Centre

Photos by Alan L Brown - Posted March, 2016

Photo Source - Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

In the west hallway on the first floor of the Doctors Association Building at 101 Stokes Street at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) at 1001 Queen Street West, you will find this Ontario Heritage Trust plaque. It's part of the CAMH historical - archival exhibit "Breaking Down Barriers". These plaques were originally dedicated in 1990 at the main entrance of Queen Street's Administration Building. When that structure was demolished for site redevelopment in 2010, CAMH's Corporate Archivist, John Court (who I'd like to thank for helping me update this page), arranged for the salvage, repainting and re-installation of the plaques in their present location, in cooperation with the Ontario Heritage Trust. Here's what the plaque says:

Coordinates: 43.643059 -79.418924

The first permanent mental health facility in Upper Canada, the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, forerunner of the present Centre, was officially opened on January 26, 1850. It was housed in what was then a technically advanced building with central heating, mechanical ventilation and indoor plumbing designed to treat patients in a humane environment. The institution was ably managed by Dr. Joseph Workman, who earned an international reputation as a mental hospital administrator, from 1854 to 1875. Then, plagued by over-crowding and understaffing, it experienced declining standards, particularly in the decades following the First World War. It was revitalized when new community-based rehabilitative programs were introduced during the 1950s. To underscore this change, the old asylum was demolished in 1975-76 and the present Centre was completed in 1979.

Related Ontario plaque
Richard Maurice Bucke, M.D. 1837-1902

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Here are the visitors' comments for this page.

> Posted December 8, 2017
My mother was signed in by my father, as the doctors told him she was imagining she was pregnant and she was having a breakdown. Well my mother was treated very badly and the condition were horrifying. The staff would throw a doll at her and say here's your baby. She endured lots of shock treatments and did escape from 999 Queen Street. She hid under a small bridge till a man found her and asked her to go with him for a coffee. Of course she did just that. But what she failed to do was remove her hospital band. Well the outcome was the guy used the pay phone in the back of the restaurant to call the hospital and two men arrived and took her back to a nightmare again.
jacqueline katez [email protected]

> Posted January 7, 2015
Hello. My name is Jamey and I was wondering if anyone had info on a patient named Noah Cummings. He would have been there in the 50s or 60s maybe 70s. He was my great great grandfather and our family doesn't even know the date of his death as his only surviving child is 94 and suffers from dementia herself and cannot remember. Please. Any info would be grateful. [email protected]

> Posted July 8, 2013
I worked as a graduate nurse at 999 Queen Street from 1963 - 64 before I left to join the staff at Toronto Psychiatric Hospital. I have many happy memories of the staff and patients during my time spent there.

> Posted September 28, 2012
I can remember as a nursing student visiting the hospital for a day's training. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience a brief exposure of what life was like there. I took away images and realities that I never forgot and found I learned a tremendous amount about life within those walls in such a short time.

> Posted August 19, 2012
My mother spent a number of years at 999 Queen St. In later years she told me of the horrible shock treatments she endured there. She survived and spent her last years in a Nursing home in Bolton Ontario. She was a very kind person and I miss her greatly.

> Posted December 8, 2011
This building no longer stands, and the plaques have been removed while new construction takes place. Meantime, a new series of historical plaques has been erected around the historic perimeter walls. See the link to "Memorial Wall Plaques Dedicated to Patient Labourers" above. -Wayne

> Posted December 3, 2011
I was a patient there in 1969. Was about 14 yrs. old. There were many good times as well as horrible ones. To this day I still think about when I was a patient in that hospital. When I had TB,I was about 14 yrs. old. The staff were very good to us. Have some memories as well as bad ones. Food was good, it was clean but there were some patients who were there that I wish I had never met. yuks.

> Posted October 3, 2011
I remember the address rather than the proper name "999 Queen Street". My mother would always tell my sister that she (my sister) would one day wind up at "999 Queen St". Whenever we did not do exactly as we were told my mother would threaten to send us there!! There are were days as a child I really thought we would be better off at "999 Queen Street"... it was only several years later that I finally found out what was at this address. Sad story short... my sister nor I were ever taken there, but my mother did manage to drive my father to the mental health facility a number of times.

> Posted September 11, 2011
My Great Aunt was a patient there, and died there in 1951. My mother and Grandmother talked about it quite a lot. I believe my mother used to visit her and told horrible stories.

> Posted April 19, 2011
I know this hospital well, my parents worked there, we lived on the adjoining street. I went through the old building before it was torn down (rather horrific to say the least) and the new building. I see that new buildings are going up on the grounds now.

> Posted January 6, 2011
I remember as a youngster, me and my classmates visited here on a class trip when the old building was still standing. We got quite an interesting tour, and when we went to a seminar afterwards, I was sure I heard someone laughing crazily. I also remember, in the late 60s or early 70s, there was a campaign to keep, if not the entire structure, then at least the dome and staircase from the old building.

> Posted September 24, 2010
To get rid of the old moniker and the dark ages image the address of the "hospital" was changed in 1998 to "1001 Queen St. West", which is the block address of the newly renovated outpatient clinics. However, the registered address (and location of the main entrance) remains "999 Queen St. West".

> Posted May 4, 2009
As a kid I remember people would commonly refer to its address rather than the proper name. "999 Queen Street". I think the address has changed as well.

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