Exploring History Behind Bars: Our Guided Tour of Kingston Penitentiary
- Lynn Abbey
- Aug 3, 2024
- 3 min read
This post was writtten for the Trinity Times by Lynn on June 2022
Recently, Dave and I took Large Marge out to the Kingston area for a week of camping. While there, we had the opportunity to join a guided tour of the Kingston Penitentiary. We bought our tickets online for the ninety-minute tour beginning at 11:20 AM, and after parking Large Marge in the ample free parking lot adjacent to the building, we walked through an imposing gate to gather with about fifteen other people and our tour guide, a Queen’s University student in the field of law and justice studies. Although I admit to being a bit disappointed, I was also impressed that among the first information our guide shared was that she wouldn’t be pointing out any specific locations, cells, or information relating to notorious cases from current times. This protects the information of inmates, employees, victims of crime and their families. Even without those details, the tour proved informative and interesting!
The Kingston Penitentiary was built in 1833-34 as the prison for Upper Canada. State of the art at the time, it had 154 cells stacked in 5 tiers. There were also industrial shops, administrative offices, infirmary, kitchen and dining hall, and residences for senior administrators and their families. With many additions and renovations taking place over the following years, most of the institution as we know it (including that imposing front gate) was completed by 1849. It was shocking to see the footprint of the original cells as we toured: a small space 2.4 feet wide x 8 feet deep x 6.7 feet high. In later years, the bars between two cells were removed and each cell in the original cell blocks was then 4.8 feet wide – a wingspan rather than a shoulderspan!
The architecture of the original limestone, brick, and stucco buildings is quite impressive, although on the dingy day we toured, everything looked grey, dark, and depressing. In 1990, the entire complex was designated a National Historic Site because of “the sophistication of its plan, its size, its age and the number of its physical facilities of special architectural merit that survive from the 19th century” (tour brochure, 2022). The prison was decommissioned and closed in 2013, and inmates moved to more modern facilities in other maximum-security institutions.
Our tour guide was very well-informed and engaging in her stories of the prison through the years. For example, she told us that in the early days, all employees had to live within earshot of the prison bell so that they could report immediately to their posts in the event of an emergency on site. There was also a very interesting account about the life of one employee who was born on the grounds to an officer in residence, worked there, lived there as an adult, and was eventually killed on the grounds during a bold and violent escape right through the front gate! Volunteers also assist in providing information at various stops on the tour – we saw the segregation unit with the former Warden of the Kingston Pen, the centre of the infamous 1971 riot with a guard at that time, and the industrial shops area with a woman who held many positions in the penitentiary including activities director just before it closed. These volunteers helped us imagine life in the pen and helped us to understand that while the inmates had all been convicted of crimes many of them were trying to forge different paths during their incarceration and beyond. Their stories really brought the space to life for the tourists! Other tours are also available at the KP: one that focuses specifically on the architecture of the institution, and a longer 2.5 hour tour that includes the Regional Treatment Facility (psychiatric institution) and different areas inside the prison (dining hall, kitchen, etc). In the end, we both wished we’d signed up for the longer tour!!!
If you’re looking for a place to visit for a few days this summer or fall, we highly recommend the Kingston area! In addition to the penitentiary, Fort Henry is a highly-recommended tourist attraction, and both the historical areas of the city and nearby towns along with natural areas along the Rideau Canal locks, the St Lawrence Seaway, and the Thousands Islands offer something for everyone!
Safe Travels
Lynn
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