Canada’s incredible abandoned buildings
Buildings left to decay
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/01c16c1e-0823-425f-a700-66c6f1c79bfc-Old_Theater_Building_Boblo_Island_Freaktography_Shutterstock.jpg)
Lamphouse Building, Bankhead, Banff National Park, Alberta
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/e34c4bd7-eca0-48be-99da-269f34721322-Lamphead_Building_Bankhead_cvm_Shutterstock.jpg)
In the late-1800s, the discovery of coal at Cascade Mountain in Banff National Park led to the establishment of the Bankhead coal mine. A town quickly sprung up, and in its heyday in the early 1900s, it was home to around 1,000 people. In fact, Bankhead was pretty affluent for its time, benefitting from innovations including streetlamps, electricity and a sewage system long before other nearby towns. The Lamphouse Building, pictured, played a crucial role in miners’ safety: at the beginning of each shift miners were given a lamp, and at the end these were returned and counted to check no-one had gone missing.
Welding Warehouse, Bankhead, Banff National Park, Alberta
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/76910b61-3e14-42f8-8531-2d1b00df9d63-Welding_warehouse_bankhead_Brooke_Novak_CC-BY-2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Following a decade of labour strikes and money troubles, the mine became unprofitable and had to close in 1922. While many of the buildings were moved to Canmore, Banff and Calgary, the town came under protection from the National Parks Act in 1930 and its structures have been preserved. Today, people can visit Bankhead and see its remains, including a welding warehouse (pictured), a power house (which provided the town with electricity), a boiler house (where coal was burned to heat water) and several disused mining rail cars.
Tranquille Sanatorium, Kamloops, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/e33a47d8-ca75-453c-84cd-2860049790dd-Tranquille_Sanatorium_IslandGirl88_Shutterstock.jpg)
Located on the outskirts of Kamloops in British Columbia’s Interior region, Tranquille Sanatorium started life as a tuberculosis hospital in 1907. Patients were taken to facilities like this one for a “rest cure”, which involved getting plenty of fresh air and eating a healthy diet, and was the main treatment option until antibiotics were developed in the 1950s. Tuberculosis had an especially devastating toll on First Nations people: around one-third of the entire Inuit community was infected in the 1950s.
Tranquille Sanatorium, Kamloops, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/5c420798-ab0e-4edd-8a89-110c66fa6b28-Tranquille_Sanatorium_Darren_Kirby_CC_BY-SA_2.0_Wikimedia_Commons_resized.jpg)
With beds for 360 patients, Tranquille Sanatorium was one of the province’s leading treatment hospitals. But after the arrival of anti-tuberculosis drugs in the 1950s, such facilities were no longer needed, so the sanatorium ceased operations in 1958. It served a brief stint as a psychiatric hospital before closing for good in 1983, and since then it's been left to decay. With its boarded-up windows and peeling paintwork, the decrepit sanatorium casts a haunting silhouette against its picturesque surroundings.
Hebron Mission, Newfoundland and Labrador
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/d10d94e1-8716-4bac-9013-6e6cb7e28020-Hebron_Mission_Denise_Kitagawa_CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Hebron Mission, Newfoundland and Labrador
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/60f9c1af-7533-4f86-9203-17b8d7036043-Hebron_Mission_John_Higdon_CC-BY-NC-ND-2.0_Flickr_resized.jpg)
For around 130 years, there were an estimated 200-250 Inuit people living at Hebron Mission. Yet in 1959, a combination of factors including tuberculosis and poor living conditions led the settlement to be officially closed, forcing First Nations people to be uprooted. Hebron Mission soon fell into a state of disrepair. Since 2009, there has been a monument at the site bearing an official apology from the provincial government, as well as an adjacent plaque bearing the Inuit community’s acceptance of that apology.
Venus Silver Mine, Tagish Lake, Yukon
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/d00155f3-b262-4ff6-8abf-6235bfc30663-Venus_silver_mine_Design_Pics_Inc_Alamy_Stock_Photo.jpg)
Venus Silver Mine, Tagish Lake, Yukon
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/d0d4dfa3-4ffe-445d-970e-4d27003c6215-Venus_silver_mine_2_Design_Pics_Inc_Alamy_Stock_Photo.jpg)
After peaking between 1905 and 1906, its heyday was short-lived, and the mine closed in 1915. Since then, its fate has been left to the elements – and human beings. In October 2020, a local citizen alerted the government that they had spotted a man stealing historic artefacts from the site. Fortunately, police were able to track down the man and recover the items, returning them to the hauntingly beautiful spot.
Parkhurst Ghost Town, Whistler, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/ac3a501a-1382-4215-a046-793d9844a379-Parkhurst_ghost_town_pirhan_CC_BY_SA_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Parkhurst Ghost Town, Whistler, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/b6ea84a1-1dd4-43fb-bbc5-d2c9fcb73e62-Parkhurst_ghost_town_2_pirhan_CC_BY_SA_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Train cars, Trinity Loop, Charleston, Newfoundland and Labrador
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/4618f5d3-8e2c-4c68-a997-d208c411b1ca-Trinity_Loop_CC-BY-ND-2.0_Zippo_S_Flickr.jpg)
Train cars, Trinity Loop, Charleston, Newfoundland and Labrador
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/83152463-c7d6-48c7-986a-e98a7fb78fd2-Trinity_Loop_3_CC-BY-ND-2.0_Zippo_S_Flickr.jpg)
Since shutting in 2004, the trainline-turned-amusement park has turned into another kind of attraction: a ghost town. There’s plenty here to spook visitors, from deteriorating railway carriages (like these) and broken tracks to faded murals – there are even the remains of a mini-golf course.
Discover the world's spookiest abandoned subway and train stations
Burwash Correctional Center, Killarney, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/5065f7b8-8e19-41fd-97f8-eb949e8ed4a8-Burwash_3_Ontario_Canada_CC_BY_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Burwash Correctional Center, Killarney, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/c29cc41a-3359-4115-a02c-4585cd30b54d-Burwash_Ontario_Canada_CC_BY_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Burwash Correctional Center, Killarney, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/e1621264-62c8-4bb6-abbf-d16c08c1b040-Burwash_Alex_Luyckx_CC-BY-2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Old Theater Building, Boblo Island Amusement Park, Bois Blanc Island, Amherstburg, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/e9aed0f1-2680-43fc-aa91-1433cc6573e7-Old_Theater_Building_Boblo_Island_Freaktography_Shutterstock.jpg)
Just on the cusp of the US/Canada border, Boblo Island Amusement Park was a day out for Ontario and Michigan residents alike. The former theme park located on Bois Blanc Island (nicknamed “Boblo Island”) opened in 1898 and visitors arrived on ferries from Detroit and Gibraltar in Michigan, and Amherstburg, Ontario. Its prime attractions included the second-largest dancehall in the world, a Ferris wheel, zoo and carousel, as well as several roller coasters. Pictured here is the Old Theater Building.
Old Theater Building, Boblo Island Amusement Park, Bois Blanc Island, Amherstburg, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/14844395-cfdf-4157-9960-f539c820f3b0-Old_Theater_2_Boblo_Island_2_Freaktography_Shutterstock.jpg)
Space Needle, Boblo Island Amusement Park, Bois Blanc Island, Amherstburg, Ontario
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/07e7f788-1ef4-44bd-9033-912f8fbff7f2-Space_Needle_Boblo_Island_3_Freaktography_Shutterstock.jpg)
Giant Mine, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/abc1e881-bef0-49bf-96f0-48c923d8ef07-Giant_Mine_Alan_Sim_CC_BY-SA_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
The history of Yellowknife’s Giant Mine is one of ecological disaster. Gold was first discovered in the Yellowknife area, which was home to the Dene First Nation community, in 1896, but it was considered inaccessible at first. However, the advent of bush planes in the 1930s opened up the region to prospectors and the Giant Mine began operations in the 1940s, after the end of the Second World War. What ensued was one of the longest continuing gold mining operations in Canada’s history – but also one of the most deadly.
Giant Mine, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/af8daa54-bc1c-41a9-9bbc-b7736cd5215f-Giant_Mine_All_Canada_Photos_Alamy_Stock_Photo.jpg)
Up until 1958, Giant Mine was pumping out arsenic into the environment unchecked – around 237,000 tonnes of toxic arsenic dust has been produced by the mine in its history. The pollution devastated the local Yellowknives Dene community, impacting fish and animal populations on which they rely, and leaving traces of arsenic in the land within nine miles (15km) of the site. Since the mine was abandoned in 2005, it has cast a menacing shadow over the surrounding area.
Riverview Hospital, Coquitlam, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/c0480f6e-f061-4208-89cc-ccad40392049-Riverview_hospital_North_Lawn_Building_Jeff_Hitchcock_CC-BY-2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Opening its doors in 1904, the Riverview Hospital in Coquitlam, British Columbia was seen as a progressive institution for treating mental illness in the early 20th century. By 1956, there were more than 4,300 patients being treated there.
Riverview Hospital, Coquitlam, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/8a8689ae-9175-4bfd-85a4-5727354e9188-Riverview_Hospital_Tjflex2_CC_BY-NC-ND_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Yet patient numbers began to decline in the 1960s, in part due to the arrival of new “antipsychotic” medicines as well as new facilities opening in regional hospitals. Abandoned since 2010, the site is now a magnet for urban explorers, as well as a popular movie and TV filming location – it’s appeared in The X Files, Supernatural, Saw, Watchmen and Smallville to name a few.
Riverview Hospital, Coquitlam, British Columbia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/fb891f35-3219-4d58-9efd-bfd8daba9ecd-Riverview_Hospital_Justus_Hayes_CC_BY_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
It’s also faced its fair share of controversy. The hospital and local government were criticised in recent years for the use of controversial electroshock therapy, while a group of former patients have alleged they were illegally sterilised between 1940 and 1968.
Small Arms Store, McNabs Island, Halifax, Nova Scotia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/b9571ce8-6c57-409e-b04e-5814fc10dfbd-Small_Arms_Store_McNab_Island_Dennis_Jarvic_CC_BY-SA_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Fort Ives Room, McNabs Island, Halifax, Nova Scotia
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/6d3ee168-a0bd-4575-b7ea-1c7d8a267669-Fort_Ives_room_McNab_Island_2_Dennis_Jarvic_CC_BY-SA_2.0_Flickr.jpg)
Fox pen building, Silver City, Yukon
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/a5783d32-4818-4120-be97-7330892d5ef0-Fox_Pen_Silver_City_Samoli_Shutterstock.jpg)
Jack Hayden’s Homestead, Silver City, Yukon
![](https://loveincorporated.blob.core.windows.net/contentimages/gallery/f6af7847-4b7a-4e1c-915e-0932f716b1e0-Jack_Hayden_Silver_City_davidrh_Shutterstock.jpg)
Today, these eerie structures remain, despite the fact that prospectors are long gone. Many of them have fallen victim to Mother Nature, with wildflowers blooming between tumble-down walls and rooftops in the former silver-rush town. Pictured are the remains of Jack Hayden’s Homestead.
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature