On September 30th, 2013, moments before the last handful of federal inmates were transferred to different facilities, the Kingston Penitentiary held the distinction of being the oldest prison on Earth still in operation. Sitting ominously on the lapping shores of Lake Ontario in Kingston, the notorious penitentiary has been home to some of Canada's most infamous criminals.
The Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada was constructed in 1835, before the birth of the country of Canada. Shortly after confederation it became known as the Kingston Penitentiary, and in time became referred to by inmates, guards and locals simply as KP. Constructed with local limestone using convict labour, the imposing structure became a model for other institutions the world over for over a century to come and was even admired by the likes of Charles Dickens, who toured the facility in 1842.
Click this link to read an extensive write-up and tour the prison in more depth...
jermalism: Abandonment Issues: Kingston Penitentiary
The Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada was constructed in 1835, before the birth of the country of Canada. Shortly after confederation it became known as the Kingston Penitentiary, and in time became referred to by inmates, guards and locals simply as KP. Constructed with local limestone using convict labour, the imposing structure became a model for other institutions the world over for over a century to come and was even admired by the likes of Charles Dickens, who toured the facility in 1842.
Click this link to read an extensive write-up and tour the prison in more depth...
jermalism: Abandonment Issues: Kingston Penitentiary
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