People who've lived and worked at the Waterford Hospital in St. John's say it has a complicated history of pain and recovery, deeply disturbing stories of abuse, powerful memories of caring and lifelong friendships.

No one individual can speak for the thousands of people who've known the psychiatric hospital since it opened in 1855, but CBC News spoke with three people whose lives have been deeply affected by the 170-year-old facility.

They say that as the province opens its new mental health and…