Corporate body

Allan Memorial Institute

1940-2015

The Allan Memorial Institute, also known colloquially as "the Allan," is a former psychiatric hospital and research institute located at 1025 Pine Avenue West in Montreal, Canada.

In 1863, Sir Hugh Allan, the Scottish founder and president of the Allan Lines Shipping Company, commissioned Victor Roy and John Hopkins to construct a house that reflected his wealth and power. This Italianate, villa-style mansion was named Ravenscrag after a Scottish castle and was located at the top of McTavish Street with an imposing view over the entire city. After Sir Hugh Allan died in 1882, his son and daughter-in-law, Sir Montagu and Marguerite, respectively, inherited Ravenscrag. They enlarged the house and redecorated it in a more elegant and lavish style. After Sir Montagu's death, Lady Allan gave Ravenscrag to the Royal Victoria Hospital in 1940. It was renamed the Allan Memorial Institute in 1943. To serve the present needs of a psychiatric hospital and research institute, the interior of the building has been altered, and many additions have been made to the exterior. The Montreal experiments were conducted at the Allan Memorial Institute between 1957 and 1964 by psychiatrist Donald Ewen Cameron. The experiments aimed to treat schizophrenia using methods such as "psychic driving," drug-induced sleep, electroconvulsive therapy, sensory deprivation, and the drug Thorazine. These experiments were funded by the CIA as part of Project MKUltra. They were not made public until 1975, even though they lasted until 1973.

The Allan Memorial's emergency room and use as an active psychiatric hospital ceased in 2015 when a new, modern psychiatry department was opened at the Montreal General Hospital. The building currently houses outpatient psychiatric services for Montreal General Hospital, part of the McGill University Health Centre.