Riverview's Changing Role

Colony Farm at Riverview was once a provincial showpiece and the source of almost all the food supplied to the hospital. Alas, times change and in 1983, the farm closed. There were rumours that the land would be redeveloped for a racetrack or industrial purposes. Fortunately, that's all they were. Rumours. 

In 1995, that area became a regional park and protected lands. Two years after, a state-of-the-art, 190-bed Forensic Psychiatric Hospital was built on an adjacent site.

Also in 1983, West Lawn, Essondale/Riverview's original building, closed. The population at the hospital had declined dramatically and the building was outdated.

By 1986, Riverview was actively promoting the involvement of families in patient care. There was a new family care centre in the Tuck Shop Building in 1986. 

“Any patients who would like to have their families or friends contacted, please phone Rose-Marie at local 652 or drop in 4 doors down from the Tuck Shop. This is an excellent way to allow your family to get acquainted with other patients, friends and family, to bring about a greater understanding of mental illness.” From the January 1986 Riverview Reporter, which replaced the Little Leader newsletter

After several years of consultation, the BC Government released a draft plan in 1987 for the old hospital. The report noted Riverview's buildings as 'outdated and often dilapidated' and suggested reducing the beds from 1,300 to 550 and allocating the money saved to community mental health services.

However, Riverview still had value. The acute care psychiatric units at BC Hospitals didn't have the specialized expertise in dealing with certain patients that Riverview had. So Riverview took on a new role and whenever a patient couldn't be treated in the hospital, they were transferred to Riverview.

“When I was responsible for the psychiatric programs at Vancouver General Hospital, at any point in time we had maybe 12 people waitlisted for Riverview. They either needed longer periods of treatment or they were very aggressive and difficult to manage. The same thing was true at other hospitals. The hope was that the acute care units would take all these patients and they’d never come to Riverview, but the reality was that there was a steady stream of people coming to Riverview.” 

John Higenbottam Vice-President, Clinical Services at Riverview, 1980-1992

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

Heather Pavilion

Recently, I went for blood tests at a lab on Broadway. I had a two hour wait before I had to go back and get the second part done so I walked behind the building with the lab, where it was quieter and I could talk on the phone. That's when I found this.

This building I am showing you was originally built from 1903 to 1906 and designed by architects by Grant and Henderson. 

Originally, this was known as the Fairview building, it was the first building located on Vancouver General Hospital's new location on Fairview Ridge. Later, the structure was renamed the Heather Pavilion and it was a landmark and the hospital's most celebrated building until the construction of the Centennial Pavilion in 1958.

Heather Pavilion features four granite towers, topped with a cupola and is a Romanesque style structure.

An interesting note concerns one of the architects. The architect, George William Grant also designed the Carnegie Library at the corner of Main and Hastings Street in 1903 as well as many of the buildings in New Westminster. He was also Vancouver's first resident architect.

You may have noticed that I missed Monday's entry. I am starting a mentor/life coaching business and it is taking a lot of my time. There are times when, unfortunately, I won't have the time or energy to write the blog.

However, I am not giving up on the Vancouver Vagabond. Sometimes I may not be able to write on a regular basis but I still have lots more Vancouver history to tell you!

I hope you find the beauty around you.

From Ballrooms to Birds

In 1929, George C. Reifel built and owned Vancouver's Commodore block on a section of Granville Street known as Theatre Row. It was a ballroom cabaret over retail shops located at street level. A bowling alley is located on the lower level - the Vancouver Vagabond wrote on this bowling alley in a previous entry and there is a scene in the Commodore Bowling Alley in my book, A Little Poison.

The Commodore Ballroom was famous for its dance floor sprung with tires and horsehair with a state-of-the-art stage and acoustics and was served by a freight elevator used to move heavy musical and theatrical equipment.

If you are interested in knowing more about the Commodore Ballroom and its history, watch for a book by Aaron Chapman, the author of Liquor, Lust and the Law: The Story of Vancouver's Legendary Penthouse Nightclub,.

In the 1940s, the Reifel family added the Vogue Theatre and the Studio Theatre. George H. Reifel - George C's son - owned the complex until the 1970s. That was when the City of Vancouver decided to create the 'Granville Mall'. The Reifels sold their property.

I'm not finished telling you about the man who started this all, Henry Reifel. Henry was active in regional community affairs. He was a life governor of the Vancouver General Hospital, a member of the Board of Trade, President of the Nanaimo Pioneers and a member of the Vancouver Pioneers Association. Henry donated land for the original Vancouver Art Gallery on Georgia Street and in 1928, he built a wing on the Ocean View Mausoleum. A charter member of the Point Grey Golf Club, the Reifel patriarch was also one of the organizers of the Eagle Lodge in Nanaimo. Henry Reifel died in Vancouver on September 4, 1945. He was 76 years old.

If you remember, George C. Reifel was the oldest child of Henry and Annie. He worked in the family business but he also owned a 500-acre farm on Westham Island at the mouth of the Fraser River Estuary. George C. was Alberta Distilleries, an Alberta company formed in 1946 with oil and natural gas tycoon, Frank M. McMahon.

The Reifel family have left their impression on my city. Not only with the mansion Casa Mia on Southwest Marine Drive - I found a listing from 2007 where the property was listed for $12 million - and the Commodore block but also with the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary is one of the richest treasures donated to the preservation of wildlife and the study of nature in North America. It is located just south of Richmond, BC, on Westham Island - a forty-minute drive from downtown Vancouver.

I admit, I started this three part series on the Reifel family because of rumours that they were involved with running alcohol to the States during the prohibition. I don't know if they were and it isn't important. What is important is the mark this family has left on Vancouver and how they contributed to the city's growth.

Once again, I got the information from the Reifel geneology page on Tripod.

I hope you find the beauty around you.