This summer, tourists will have a chance to visit one of Canada’s oldest and most infamous former prisons, the Kingston Penitentiary.
Government officials announced on Friday that the former maximum-security penitentiary in Kingston, Ontario will open its doors to public tours from June 14 until October 29.
Kingston Penitentiary was one of the oldest prisons in continuous use in the world at the time of its closure in 2013. Photo: “Souvenir views of the city of Kingston Ontario, Canada, and the Thousand Islands, River St. Lawrence,” 1901.
Proceeds from the tours will be split between the United Way charity and local tourism marketing efforts.
Tours will be conducted in English, though the city says “as many tour guides as possible” will be bilingual.
The historic penitentiary closed in 2013, after nearly 180 years in operation.
Among those who served time in the penitentiary were photographer William Notman’s brother, Robert, who had arranged an abortion for a young woman he had seduced during the 1860s. Elaine Kalman Naves wrote about the trial in her book, Portrait of a Scandal: The Abortion Trial of Robert Notman.
You can learn more about available penitentiary records on DigitalKingston. But don’t hold your breath about finding them digitized.
Can you please send me more information on this. Please
To my knowledge, there is no info about ticket prices and opening hours yet. The tickets are expected to go on sale mid-June. Perhaps Kingston Tourism can help you: http://tourism.kingstoncanada.com/en/index.asp Or try Googling “kingston penitentiary tours.” Good luck!