Easter Monday at the HRC

Easter Monday dawned sunny and warm as Copy-6 and I ventured to the old Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia. Built in the late 1800's as an institution for the "mentally insane", it was closed in the early 2000's and its many residents were relocated within the community.

Rear view of our goal: a classroom/residential building.

Point-of-Entry was an open window leading to the steam tunnels.

(no I'm not gonna tell you where it was.)

Through the steam tunnels to this conveniently placed step-down chair.

Finding empty suitcases in these places always makes me sad, because you know the owner checked in but never checked out.

The usual institutional debris and destruction.

Night shift records.

Poor Isobel just didn't want to go to sleep that night. Probably because of the nightmares.

Figures after we crawled our asses through the steam tunnels we found this unlocked, cracked-open outside door.

The residential rooms were all painted in bright colours, some with borders and wallpaper. Each had a window, radiator, and closet. There were huge areas with cubicle-like places in the middle of the building, I assume those were the classroom areas.

Down the dark, creepy, mold-covered and paint-peeling corridors.

There is no worse smell than "abandoned lavatory."

Eww.

We would have ventured farther into the tunnels that connect all the buildings in this vast complex but when we opened the door to that corridor we noticed what looked like an alarm sensor. Rather than risk getting escorted out by security we decided to GTFO on our own.

Across the street at the Cemetary:

Over 2000 residents have been laid to rest here, the majority in unmarked graves.

Another successful UrbEx mission by the awesome team of JuicyFruitKisses and Copy-6.

Concord Flowers

On the same fine November day as "Funky Punky's Childhood Home", Copy-6, Funky Punky and myself went to the old Concord Flowers greenhouses.

"Trespass"? Us? Never!

The greenhouses were all overgrown like this. It was like walking through a big allergen-filled jungle.

Allergies....as far as the eye could see.....

The concrete beds each had a date on them. Don't know if it's authentic but it'd be cool if it is.


People in the Olden Days liked to leave their mark too.

The smokestack of the factory part, through the greenhouse windows.

We were walking on a wooden pathway and then realized what we were walking on:

(yikes!)

If you're not gonna use it, Mother Nature's gonna take it back.

The factory part.
Inside the factory part.

I kept it closed, just in case.

Newspaper from the '70s.

At this precise moment we declared Punky to be "Cool" and stated that she could UrbEx with us anytime:


Another successful Urban Exploration.


Special thanks to Copy-6 & Funky Punky for a very enjoyable day!

Funky Punky's Childhood Home.

One fine November day, Copy-6, myself and our new UrbEx buddy Funky Punky journey to Funky's childhood home just outside of Vaughan, Ontario. It's an old farmhouse on the property of "Rocco's Tomatoes and Vegetables" and, according to reputable sources, haunted.

Carefully stepped into the back door....

....into this room, with all it's peeling '70s wallpaper glory.

The living room. The ceiling was falling down in places.

The mantle in the livingroom.

The house had settled onto this beautiful old wood door and we couldn't open it, but a nosy peek through the doorknob showed what is probably a "summer kitchen" or sunroom.

(note Funky Punky's butt. Tee hee.)

The kitchen was a little tiny room to one side of that first room:


....with an itty-bitty sink in it, as well as the regular kitchen sink.

Upstairs in the attic above the kitchen:

(OMG an orb!! Just kidding, it's a reflection.)

The current occupants use a different means of entry:


Up some spooky stairs - we heard "thumping" noises as we climbed them - are 3 bedrooms and the bathroom.

The two back bedrooms are joined by a closet. How cool is that?!


The back bedroom has some awesome teddy bear wallpaper:


Don't know if this is authentic, but had to get a pic anyway.


And last but not least: GREEN SHAG CARPET!


OMG a mist!! Just kidding, another reflection. (or is it?)

Special thanks to Funky Punky for taking us to her old home and sharing the memories & stories associated with.

Fail....then WIN!!!

With the arrival of spring comes a new season of UrbEx for myself, Copy-6 and neX.

After being thwarted at our original destination, the old Millbrook Penitentiary:

(UrbEx-ers are the only people who will try to break INTO a jail.)

We headed over to Bowmanville to check out the old Camp 30:


Camp 30 was originally built during WW2 to house German POW's and was most recently an "Islamic University." It currently sits abandoned and....I shit you not....with an open door to every single building. Not just unlocked, I'm talking wide-open-come-on-in doors.

The Library:


Every book seemed to be Non-Fiction. I didn't see any non-learning books in there.

(I don't see Copy-6 behind that pillar, do you?)

The Cafeteria:
(aka Officer's Mess Hall)

This entire place smelled like curry. Lots and lots of curry.

Sadly, the "Classroom Building" was recently destroyed by a "suspicious" fire.

And the "Gymnasium" next to it was fire-damaged as well.

(see? WIDE OPEN DOOR!!)


Inside the gymnasium:


They even had a pool:


Inside the Boys Dormitory:
(the Girl's Dormitory was much cleaner, this place was full of stuff and completely trashed.)


The Qu'ran:


A "Prayer Timetable":
(because you can only pray to Allah at certain times. Thankfully my God accepts prayers 24/7.)


All the boys' dorm rooms looked pretty much like this. Bunk beds, old radiators and "stuff". Lots of "stuff" strewn all over the place.


This is called "Adams House" and it looked like families lived there:


Every room was FULL of "stuff" all over the place and the entire building reeked like curry.


I couldn't get over the amount of "stuff" in this building. Clothes, shoes, toys, household items - everywhere. Rotting food in the fridge. Why??


And of course, the classic "Penis Tag."

In conclusion, a day that we thought would be "Fail" turned out to be a huge "WIN". We are definitely going back to this place in the near future.