r/Freaktography

The 2026 Perseids meteor shower wasn’t as dramatic as I had hoped for, but was exactly the kind of night that I’ve been craving!

I spent the night at Awenda Provincial Park and picked Kettle’s lake as my viewing location.

There was not a soul in sight so I had the whole lake to myself, the skies were crystal clear and I was joined by one Loon who provided the sounds for the night.

I arrived before sunset and stayed out until just after 1am. I would habe stayed until 430amk (when the sky would be most active) but lenses kept fogging up and I didn’t bring what was needed to stop that from happening.

With my own eyes, I saw several very impressive meteors streak across the sky, below is what I managed to capture with my camera

https://freaktography.com/2026-perseids-meteor-shower-at-awenda-provincial-park-ontario-astrophotography

A Sunflower Field Along Highway 400 in Ontario, Canada

https://freaktography.com/ontario-travel-photography

It always amazes me the beauty you can find in a cemetery

This was a pretty crazy discovery while exploring with u/riddimryder earlier this year

I'd say the fashion show was my favourite part though

Much more to see here:

https://freaktography.com/abandoned-time-capsule-house-with-everything-left-behind-2026/

And the video tour here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTQCSnjC-2Y

This was a pretty crazy discovery while exploring with u/riddimryder earlier this year

I'd say the fashion show was my favourite part though

Much more to see here:

https://freaktography.com/abandoned-time-capsule-house-with-everything-left-behind-2026/

And the video tour here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTQCSnjC-2Y

Six years ago, I headed to the Thousand Islands in Ontario to explore the abandoned Hill Island Resort and to spend the night capturing the perseids meteor shower.

Being August 2020, the entire Thousand Islands felt like an eerie desolate ghost town and I hardly saw any people as I drove around.

The abandoned resort, at that time, was in remarkable condition. So much so that I found several rooms that would be perfect for sleeping in. I had planned on car camping on this trip, but instead, I picked the best room that I could find and brought my sleeping bags and pillows in with me and set myself up for the night.

I found a room with a balcony and a perfect, North facing view where I could sit and enjoy the meteor shower with a clear dark sky.

Here are some photos from the abandoned resort, which is no longer abandoned. I've been told you can now live there for $1,000/month!

Tonight I'll be off in a special location watching, filming and photographing the Perseids, hopefully coming home with some great footage to share with you!

Here is my website gallery with all photos
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-hill-island-resort-thousand-islands-ontario

Here is the video tour from that night in 2020.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6glTSXHT53s

Yesterday, I received a comment from someone on Reddit:

"This was Dorothy Shoichet's home, she was a philanthropist and did a lot for the city of Toronto regarding education and the arts. She was a good friend of my late grandmother Beverley Salmon, im not sure what happened regarding the home after she passed."

So, I dug a little bit deeper:

Dorothy Shoichet was a remarkable Toronto philanthropist, businesswoman and supporter of the arts and education, and her husband Irv Shoichet.

Dorothy built an impressive life far beyond this house. She became co-manager of the Oxford Picture Frame Company, helping grow the business into Canada's largest picture-frame moulding manufacturer. But her interests extended well beyond business.

She was deeply involved in Toronto's cultural and educational communities, including serving as chair of the Koffler Centre of the Arts for 10 years. She was also a passionate supporter of education, the arts, art history, writing and opera.

In 2010, the University of Toronto awarded Dorothy an honorary Doctor of Laws degree, recognizing her business leadership and her contributions to the community, particularly in the areas of education and the arts.

Her family also continued that legacy. Her daughter, Dr. Molly Shoichet, became a renowned University of Toronto scientist, and a Dorothy Shoichet award was established at U of T to recognize and support women faculty in science.

📸 Full gallery of then-and-now photos + video walkthrough: https://freaktography.com/abandoned-14-million-dollar-bridle-path-mansion

▶️ Watch the full exploration on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Uaf9XWj4w

Then & Now: Inside an abandoned $15,000,000 mansion in Toronto 🏚️🎹

This place was an absolute time capsule, mid-century modern architecture, a sculpture-filled great hall, indoor pool, home gym, wood-paneled office, grand piano lounge... now it's stripped, flooded ceilings, and reclaimed by weeds. Wild seeing the "then" archival photos next to what it looks like today.

📸 More then-and-now photos + full video walkthrough:

https://freaktography.com/abandoned-14-million-dollar-bridle-path-mansion

▶️ Watch the full exploration on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05Uaf9XWj4w

This week, we've been revisiting several of the psychiatric hospitals and regional centres across Ontario that have been closed by the provincial government.

We started with St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital, then South Western Regional Centre near Chatham and then we headed to Smiths Falls to see what is left of the Rideau Regional Centre.

Today, we head to Palmerston, Ontario to the one facility that has had the most lives - Midwestern Regional Centre.

Originally known as the Midwestern Regional Children's Centre, the facility opened in the 1960s as part of Ontario's network of large institutions for people with developmental disabilities. Designed as a self-contained community, the sprawling complex included residential wards, classrooms, dining facilities, recreation areas, a swimming pool and numerous support buildings.

Although it originally served children, the population increasingly consisted of adults, with approximately 225 residents living there at its peak. Like many of Ontario's large institutions, Midwestern eventually became part of a much broader shift away from institutionalization and toward community-based care. The centre closed its doors in 1998, and its residents were moved into community settings.

But that wasn't the end of Midwestern.

After sitting vacant, the property became the subject of several attempts at reinvention. A proposed retirement community called Village Green Lifestyle Community was planned for the site, but the project ultimately failed.

Then, in one of the strangest chapters in the property's history, the complex was purchased by Cham Shan Temple and plans were made to transform the former institution into a Buddhist retreat and temple. Buddhist statues and other religious elements appeared throughout the old buildings, creating an incredible contrast with the site's institutional past. That project also eventually stalled.

The site's history also became part of the larger reckoning with Ontario's former developmental institutions. In 2016, a $36-million class-action settlement was approved involving former residents of 12 institutions, including Midwestern, following allegations of neglect, abuse and failures in the protection and care of residents.

In 2021, the property was purchased by Eden Grove Village, a not-for-profit organization exploring future uses for the massive site.

So Midwestern has gone from government institution, to abandoned complex, to proposed retirement community, to Buddhist retreat, and now to a property with an uncertain future.

And that's what makes this place so fascinating. We're not just exploring an abandoned building. We're walking through the remains of several completely different chapters of Ontario history, each leaving its own mark on the buildings.

Here's a look at what remains of Midwestern Regional Centre.

There is much more to see on my website at:
https://freaktography.com/midwestern-regional-centre/

Continuing on with our tour of the various closed down regional centres and mental hospitals in Ontario, today we travel to Smiths Falls for a tour of the Abandoned Rideau Regional Centre.

On March 31, 2009, the lights went out for good at the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia and the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, the oldest and the largest residential institutions in the province.

The Rideau Regional Centre, located in Smiths Falls, Ontario, opened in 1951 as the Ontario Hospital School. Along with similar residential institutions throughout Ontario, it was designed to house individuals who were deemed to have cognitive and physical disabilities.

Individuals could be admitted by parents and guardians, training schools, or the Children’s Aid Society.

At its peak, Rideau’s population exceeded 2,600 people in 1955, even though it was only built to accommodate 1,500. By the mid 1970s, the Ontario government operated 16 such facilities across the province.

In the 1950s and 60s, there were few community services and supports available for individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

That began changing in the 1970s when schools and workshops and other community support for people with developmental disabilities were introduced.

Rideau was one of the last three facilities of its kind in Ontario, along with the Southwestern Regional Centre in Chatham-Kent and the Huronia Regional Centre in Orillia, all of which closed in 2009

After the facilities closed, after former residents of a number of Ontario institutions filed class action lawsuits claiming neglect and abuse, and after the premier apologized for their pain

Hepatitis B was widespread at Rideau Regional, especially among patients with down syndrome. A study in the 1970s found that more than 90 per cent of residents with Down syndrome in the sample group had contracted hepatitis B at some point, and one-quarter of them had developed a chronic case. A larger survey at Huronia found similar results.

At the end of 2013 it was announced that tentative settlements totalling $32.7 million had been reached for former residents of two Ontario institutions for the developmentally disabled who alleged they were abused at the facilities.

The two institutions were the Rideau Regional Centre in Smiths Falls, Ont., and the Southwestern Regional Centre near Chatham, Ont.

In 2016 it was announced that an Ontario court had approved a $36-million compensation deal for people mistreated at 12 now-closed institutions for adults with mental disabilities.

More photos and a video on my website:
https://freaktography.com/abandoned-rideau-regional-centre-urban-exploring