Riverview Goes Hollywood

Riverview, with its elegant, somewhat spooky buildings is a great draw for the movie industry. Especially the imposing stone building known as Crease Clinic. It was officially closed in 1992, but many productions have given it new life.

The dignity of the clinic and those with mental illness is protected by Riverview by prohibiting sex scenes to be filmed in the abandoned clinic or any story line which may reflect badly on those with mental illness. The building has been used as apartments, office buildings, jails and police stations. Renting this building out helps to cover the costs of maintaining this heritage building.

Commercials, movies and TV shows have used Crease Clinic in their productions. Maybe you've even seen it in one of these popular shows.

Along Came a Spider 
Battlestar Galactica 
Elf 
Juno 
Scooby Doo 
Smallville 
Supernatural 
The X-Files 
Watchmen

As I've mentioned before, the lands of Riverview have great significance. Not only for their heritage value but also aesthetic appeal.

“Riverview’s sense of place is derived in part from the physical aspects of its layered history. This is seen in the monumental buildings contrasted with the residential cottages, the curving roads and driveways, the views, the sweeping open spaces, the vegetation and the sheer size of the grounds. It is also derived from a sense of the past, in which the imagination can set people and activities within the open spaces. There is a sense of mystery about the place, which compels a sense of wonder and a questioning attitude.”
From Riverview Lands Cultural Landscape History 
Denise Cook Design, May 2007

There are many people who cared for the lands on Riverview and whose hard work have made it the beautiful place it is today. That included patients. Remember, it was considered therapy to have the mentally ill work with nature.

“Along with a small number of gardeners, they were the ones who cleared the land of rocks and stones, then built walks with the stone, so that the undulating lawns and majestic trees could be planted. Until recent years, they tended all the plants and weeded the lawns, taking great pride in the beauty they were helping to create. Without their dedicated labour, there would be no Riverview lands as we know them today.”

From The Riverview Lands: Western Canada’s First Botanical Garden,
edited by Val Adolph and Brenda Guild Gillespie

Thanks to the PDF, Riverview, A Legacy of Care and Compassion for the above information.

I hope you find the beauty around you.

Karen Magill