Health care facility.
Details of Site Location: Located at the northwest corner of Richmond and Victoria, given in 1850-1 as 9 Richmond St.
Boundary History: Bounded by Richmond, Victoria and buildings adjoining on both streets.
Current Use of Property: Currently used by the Confederation Life Building.
Historical Description: The Lying-in Hospital Operated between 1848 and the late 1850s. The first reference to it is in the Assessment Rolls In 1849.when it was called General Dispensary. In 1854, termed the Toronto Lying-in Hospital, Charles W. Buchanen was the doctor. The value of the building is listed as 35, but there is no information about the size of the property or building on it. Patients came to this property from a variety of other places, mostly the General Hospital, or the Emigrant Sheds, or the prison, or quarantine detention centres. From the Lying-in Hospital, patients went back to their normal lives, but institutions such as the Magdalen Asylum record receiving patients from this Lying-in or recuperation / rehabilitation centre. Patients who could not be controlled were sent to the Lunatic Asylum or back to prison. This site was later the Colin Drummond House, which was demolished to make way for the Confederation Life Building.
Relative Importance: Rehabilitation was a rare feature in the early 19th century and was available mostly to those who could afford it and were not ready to return home. Others were no longer in need of active care in a general hospital but required special followup treatment, a lying-in Hospital on Bloor West in later years was converted to an Orthopedic Hospital. The Richmond facility was a pioneer Institution in Toronto’s medical history.
Planning Implications: A plaque at the east end of the Confederation Life Building is recommended.
Reference Sources: Assessment Rolls: 1849, 1853, 1854; Toronto City Directories: 1850-1, 1856, Boulton’s Map 1858.