Century Manor
100 West Fifth Street Hamilton , Ontario
Central Ontario
CURRENT OWNER: Infrastructure Ontario
BUILDING HISTORY:
Officially opened in March 1876, the Hamilton Asylum for the Insane (later renamed the Ontario Hospital, Hamilton, and then the Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital) was first accommodated in the Barton Building, the sixth provincially owned facility devoted to the care and treatment of the mentally ill in Ontario. Further expansion of Hamilton’s asylum was based on the “cottage system”, with patients accommodated in smaller, more home-like buildings. The first was East House (since renamed Century Manor) built in 1884. Closed in 1995, this distinguished High Victorian edifice has since stood vacant on a 21-acre parcel of property now owned by Infrastructure Ontario. It is a rare surviving example in Ontario of a special-purpose building designed to house mentally ill patients and the only of its kind in Hamilton.
In 2018, a proposal by Mohawk College to purchase and rehabilitate Century Manor as a student residence or administrative building looked promising but did not materialize. In August 2020, Infrastructure Ontario announced its intent to rezone the former HPH lands to allow for residential development. This use was at odds with the City’s vision of a combined recreational, health care and educational use for the property, with public access to trails and a restored Century Manor. The Province’s announcement prompted Hamilton Mountain resident, Pat Saunders, a strong advocate since the 1990s for the preservation of this landmark, to meet with other concerned residents to launch and incorporate a new group, called the Friends of Century Manor.
DETAILS OF THREAT:
In October 2020, attention to the urgent need of protecting the building was brought to City Council and a resolution was then passed directing staff to request from the Province’s Regional Facility Manager a plan to implement effective security measures. As of February 2021, the future of Century Manor is still in limbo.
The design of Century Manor was based on the Kirkbride Plan, the 19th century American prototype for purpose-built asylums. The linear floor plan, providing plenty of natural light and good air circulation, became the standard for Ontario facilities.
1983 view of Century Manor while still in use and in much better condition, with all of its original windows still intact. (Photo by Brian Henley, Local History & Archives)
