The Fate of the Michener Centre

This Steemit posts contains opinion and speculation

Broken glass, chunks of debris and fresh blood spatter all over the sidewalks. With the exception of the latter, these were common sights at the north Michener Centre before its total closure by the Alberta Government in the spring of 2017. Motivated by the fear of lawsuits and expensive repair work due to a recent influx in vandalism, a 2.4 meter fence was erected to close off the area to the public for good. An unfortunate demise for the eerie atmospheric landscape, but not nearly as unfortunate as the painful history still trapped behind its doors.

Opened in 1923, the centre was labelled as the Provincial Training School for the "Mental Defectives". It was built to serve as a main facility to carry out the province's eugenics program. Starting in 1928, the Alberta Government sterilized 2,844 people. The goal was to prevent them from having children with others that had similar developmental disabilities. In 1972, the practice was stopped, however, the Michener Centre remained open. In late 2015, the north side of the facility was closed and its remaining residents moved to either the south Michener Centre or group-homes across the province. For an entire year after its final closure, the grounds were open to the public.

During that time, the future of the abandoned centre was up for debate. With the inevitable increase of vandalism and looting, a curfew was put into place for the area forbidding anyone to enter between sunset and sunrise. Additionally, mobile security for the centre was introduced. In the long term, both the security and the curfew were unsuccessful at putting a stop to the increasing damage to the decaying buildings. A more drastic plan was required. With the options of a security fence or total demolition, the former prevailed. The project was initiated in the fall of 2016 and was completed in the spring of 2017. Since then, the centre has been completely closed to the public and is almost constantly monitored.

The fence was a much needed security measure, however, the inability to revisit the centre is saddening. Saddening due not only to the reasons behind the $100,000 project, but also because of the now inaccessible reminders that Michener Centre still holds behind its walls. I visited the site multiple times every week to take my dog for walks, take pictures of the distressed environment, and soak in the uncomfortable creepiness. The centre is quite a marvel – featuring a total of 16 buildings, a massive water tower, traffic lights, multiple swing sets, and a garden. It felt more like an abandoned town than an abandoned institution. With Red Deer's recent windstorm, fallen decade old trees visible through the chainlink fence only adds to the freaky environment. I'll certainly miss the centre for its horror movie-like setting.

The inevitable fate of the centre was apparent long before any security measure was put into place. It was only a matter of time before abandoned infrastructure of such scale would be subject to mass abuse and destruction. During one of the final days I toured the area, I was welcomed by a spine-chilling trail of blood leading from a building and then disappearing into the nearby park. I can only speculate who's blood it was, or how it got there, however the presence of middle schoolers wielding bricks and 2x4's gave me a pretty good idea. They didn't hang around much longer after spotting them.

Vandalizing the north Michener Centre is synonymous with poking a wasp's nest with a stick – the air circulating the buildings is incredibly toxic, and the structures could come down without any warning. Until the hazardous materials and buildings can be dealt with properly, the Michener Centre stands as a testament to the horrors of an era long gone.

“I will try to be the one there to bulldoze those buildings down. There’s a lot of ghosts in those buildings. And they’re not good. They’re not good.”

– Leilani Muir, a Michener resident sterilized in 1959 before fleeing and suing the province.

Sources

Josh Wingrove, The Globe And Mail
Susan Zielinski, Red Deer Advocate