May 2025
A lonely building of Edwardian Classical architecture sits at the edge of a woodlot, along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton, Ontario. Abandoned since 2013, this building, known as the Chedoke Hospital Long & Bisby Building, is one of the few reminders of the former Chedoke Sanatorium, also known as the Mountain Sanatorium.
The sanatorium was opened in 1906 for tuberculosis patients, the fourth sanatorium opened in Canada, after two in Gravenhurst that opened in 1898 and 1902, followed by one in Weston in 1904.
The Long & Bisby Building was built in 1920 as a nurse’s residence, and was named after Mr. W.D. Long and Mrs. George H. Bisby, who donated the land for the nearby Mountain Sanatorium.
In 1982, the building became a daycare centre, originally owned by Chedoke Hospital and then by the YMCA around 2006, continuing its use as a daycare. The daycare finally closed in 2013, around the same time that the Chedoke Hospital closed.
The former Chedoke Hospital lands are currently under redevelopment. A large housing development is now springing up on the lands surrounding. Fortunately, the Long & Bisby building was given heritage designation in 2020, and current plans will see it restored and converted to office space. Hopefully, this will happen before vandals further destroy the building, including arson, the fate of many abandoned buildings.
The heritage attributes of the Long & Bisby Building include:
- Its location in an open, park-like setting and adjacent to a woodlot;
- All exterior elevations and additions;
- Roof profile and roofline;
- Entrance portico including:
- Paired, Corinthian-inspired columns;
- Simple cornice brackets; and,
- Low metal railing.
- Decorative entrance including:
- Doorway;
- Webbed fanlight;
- Sidelights; and,
- Brick voussoir.
- Eight-bay buff brick façade with projecting ends;
- Brick parapet including:
- Lower frieze board;
- Stone finial accent; and,
- Inset stone block.
- All windows, window openings, stone sills, and side trim brick headers.
- The Cross of Lorraine and it’s highly visible location along the edge of the Niagara Escarpment.
Also read: Hamilton’s Chedoke Sanatorium now just a memory – Canadian Military History.
Sources: Chedoke Hospital Long & Bisby Building at Historical Hamilton, Notice of Intention to Designate 828 Sanatorium Road, Hamilton (Mountain Sanatorium Brow Site) | City of Hamilton, Good news for the Long & Bisby – Sarah Sheehan.
