You can reach the ruins via a short, beautiful and currently very muddy hike through Wildcat Canyon Regional Park.
Sam Moore, SFGATEnot me — having grown up in Southern California, I took longer than I’d like to admit to realize that the huge palms towering over me looked a little out of place among the oak and chaparral groves of the Richmond hills. Along with a crumbling stone foundation, these trees are the last vestiges of the Belgum Sanitarium, a once-opulent mansion where 1900s Bay Area elite would send their family members who were struggling with mental illness.
A sign that greets you before you reach the ruins states that the sanitarium, also once called the Grande Vista Sanitarium, was established by a doctor named Hendrick Nelson Belgum in 1914 “for the treatment of nervous disorders.” Its patients mainly consisted of those struggling with addiction and mental illness — neighbors called it “the crazy house,” the sign says, and locals were instructed to stay away.
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