While filming for a video project that I have been working on, a friend told me that the abandoned asylum in Hamilton Ont. called Century Manor is accessible. I got excited not only because I haven't been inside of it for a few years now (this was my second explore ever back in 2015), but also because I was only a 10 minute walk away from it!
As soon as I was done filming, I was on the asylum grounds. The excitement growing and photo ideas racking up.
The photographer that I hired for the film project is also an urban explorer, so we both searched the exterior of the building and found nothing. Turns out we had been told it was open because they had seen photos posted on social media. Who knows when they were taken but it obviously wasn't recently, which sucked! But I am still thankful that they would give the heads up when they see things.
Now wanting to shoot, we decided to go into a smaller building on the grounds. It is actually what remains from the main asylum building.
Below is a photo of the building this was a part of. (Ontario Asylum 1884 - 1980)
We stepped inside and started to do regular photos of the 3 rooms that we have always seen countless times and a couple of steel wool shots.
I was very happy with the steel wool pics and decided to do one more. A orb style in the back left corner of the room and the camera set up on the right side. In the process of setting that shot up, I saw a hole smashed in the bottom right corner of the back wall. There was no light peaking through it from outside, so I got down on the dirty floor and stuck my head inside. It was another room! Another room that I don't think anyone has seen since the demolition! We crawled through but unfortunately there was a heavy mist inside (an indicator of what else was to be found but I didn't realize it right away) so most of the photos did not turn out. Two photos that did come out okay are one of a bake sale sign (they used to have bake drives etc for the patients) and one of a hole in the ground that lead to an underground tunnel.
The tunnel is where the mist was coming from. I have been in it many times and know that in the spring or fall it gets filled with fog from the temperature changes and our weather has been changing from warm to cold and back, a lot lately! We decided to climb down and make the trek to the exit of the tunnel. Another building on the grounds that was once a ceramics workshop at the asylum.
The decay in this build, along with great lighting makes it very photogenic!
So many great finds and challenges made a disappointment was turned into and incredible afternoon! We walked away very happy from the adventure and the idea that we could have documented something that hasn't been seen in 40 years.
