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James Govan
In 1912 the government of Ontario had commissioned the work of a mental hospital to be built east of the city of Toronto along the shore lines of Whitby, Ontario. The Ontario Hospital, which was the original name of the better known Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, was designed by hospital architect James Govan.

History
Govan was born on January 10th, 1882 in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, Scotland. Displaying an interest in Architecture, Govan took classes in both design and architecture at the Glasgow School of Art in Glasgow, Scotland. In 1907, following his graduation, Govan moved to Canada where he worked as an assistant until opening his own firm in 1912. During the same year the Government of Ontario purchased 640 acres of land along the shoreline of Whitby, Ontario, which would become the proposed site to replace the outdated Queen Street building that was built in 1846 in Toronto. Working alongside a team of professionals including Psychiatrists, Physicians and government officials, Govan put together a project that featured a new design that would separate the Ontario Hospital from others of its kind.

Hospital Design
The design for the hospital included 16 cottages designed to represent a village and provide the patients at the facility with a sense of community. Each of the cottages were capable of holding up to 70 patients, and each faced southwest to allow the patients to have exposure to natural sunlight all year long. In addition to the 16 cottages the site also had several care and maintenance buildings including a powerhouse, a recreation and dining hall as well as patient care facilities. The construction of the hospital took place on pre-existing farmland, and following the completion of the facility the farms crops were recuperated and utilized by the hospital. The farm was maintained by both doctors and patients as a type of therapy for the patients.

Changing Identities
Throughout the years the hospital has gone through many names and identities. Starting as the Ontario Hospital in 1912, changing to the Ontario Hospital for the Insane in 1919, and changing again to the more commonly known Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, or Whitby Psych in 1968. The Whitby Psychiatric Hospital remained in the original buildings until 1993 when the Government of Ontario invested $133 million dollars into a new facility focusing on mental health. In 1994, following the announcement of the new facility, it was declared that the hospital would once again be remained, this time it would be known as the Whitby Mental Health Centre. In 2004 the Whitby Mental Health Centre became a stand-alone facility, no longer controlled by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. As a result a new vision was created for the hospital focusing on “excellence, innovation, safety, respect, and community”. In 2009, along with rolling out a new vision, the hospital was renamed to the current Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences.

Preserving History
Today there is only one original building that remains of the previous Ontario Hospital. Excess land from the original hospital was sold to and developed by Senator Homes Inc. starting in 2008. At the request of the area residents, Senator Homes had agreed to keep the remaining building (known as the Doctor’s House) and attempt to refurbish it into a useable building; however due to the condition of the building this option was deemed “unlikely”. Currently, recommendations and alternatives are being reviewed by the Whitby Commissioner of Planning and Senators Homes to determine the future fate of the building.