Just to the east of the core of St. Catharines, sits what was once a bustling hub of emergency services activity. That all changed on March 24, 2013 at 6:00am, when a new hospital opened to the west of the city, amalgamating the city's health services under a single roof; leaving the former hubs of activity silent for the first time in decades.

The old General Hospital complex has a storied history, visible even on the outside by the different ages of the wings as the building expanded in an ad-hoc fashion. Founded in 1870, it grew with the city it served, eventually expanding to seven full fledged wings (with the original hospital becoming the Mills Wing); even McMaster University utilized the complex as part of it's teaching hospital. Now, sitting in a state of partial demolition, the complex is slated to be converted to 220 apartment units.

Myself and several others had been watching this complex for a while, biding our time. We were severely delayed after the initial closure by the presence of guard dog security on site; several other explorers attempted it during this time but were always turned away by the dogs. Only recently has security, and their dogs, vanished from the site, finally allowing for it's secrets to be revealed.

Much of the equipment has been removed from the complex, reallocated to other hospitals, although evidence remains of where the equipment used to stand. Not all of it has been removed though; a couple of x-ray machines can still be found intact. The OR still houses it's lights, and a number of obsolete hospital beds are tucked away into the nooks and crannies. Some bio-hazardous material also remains on site; which was an unpleasant surprise to say the least.

She was worth the wait in the end, though. Not quite as intact as some of the other closed hospitals I've explored... but definitely interesting enough to make for a great afternoon (and possibly more to come).