Saint-Jean-de-Dieu Asylum
Date: c1930
Diagram of Hospital with east and west wings.
In 1873, the Hospital opened officially as the Hospice (Asile) St-Jean-de-Dieu on Hochelaga Street in east end Montreal. Because of this location, it was also known as Asile de Longue-Pointe. As with many other Francophone Montreal hospitals of the era, it was managed by the Sisters of Providence. The hospice was dedicated to the care of patients with mental illness (and was called a “lunatic asylum” by the English). It comprised several buildings, all of which were built of wood. In 1890, in one of Montreal’s worst fires, the buildings were almost completely destroyed and approximately 100 people died.
The hospital was soon rebuilt (in stone) as 14 separate pavilions, six on the east side for men and six opposite for women; two pavilions at the front included chapels and space for the three doctors and caregiver sisters. A large addition, the Pavilion Bourget (named after the Bishop responsible for founding the Sisters of Providence in 1843), was inaugurated in 1928. The Hospice became known as a “Hospital” in the 1920s and changed its name to Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine in 1976. It was renamed again in 2013 as l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal and has since merged with several other institutions as Centre Intégré Universitaire de Santé et de Services Sociaux de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
Date: Unknown
Patient ward.
Date: Unknown
Patient dining room.
Date: Unknown
Patient lounge.