Grand Vista Sanitarium in Richmond, California

The Bay Area’s regional parks are one of the many jewels that make the Bay the gem that it is, but few are aware of the ruins of a once-grand sanitarium nestled right within the hills of Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. The remnants of the estate are all that remain of a place that once housed and cared for some of the Bay Area’s sickest patients. Hendrick Nelsen Belgum, the Grand Vista Sanitarium, or Belgum Sanitarium was a sprawling estate of orchards, gardens, and palm groves designed to nurture its patients.