National Historic Sites in Kingston, Ontario.

• Anne Baillie Building
• Bellevue House
• Cataraqui Cemetery
• Elizabeth Cottage
• Fort Frontenac
• Fort Henry
• Frontenac County Court House
• Kingston City Hall and Market Square
• Kingston Customs House 
• Kingston Dry Dock
• Kingston Fortifications
• Kingston General Hospital
• Kingston Navy Yard
• Kingston Penitentiary
• Murney Tower
• Old Kingston Post Office
• Point Frederick Buildings
• Rideau Canal
• Roselawn
• Shoal Tower
• Sir John A. Macdonald Gravesite
• War of 1812 Shipwrecks

"Removal of the walls and many of the existing buildings is required."

 "Elements of the southern cruciform (workshops) should be conserved and adaptively re-used for commercial and/or residential purposes. The West Workshop is an important heritage building, however in considering future development opportunities, it may be necessary to substantially alter or remove this building."

Residential (South) "While this area is supportive of the heritage value of the former penitentiary, it is considered the least important with respect to retention and adaptive re-use of existing structures. The lake and harbour are not visible from within the former penitentiary. In order to create a residential community that is open, accessible and connected to the waterfront, removal of the walls and many of the existing buildings is required in the southern part of the penitentiary." (Portsmouth Visioning-Former Kingston Penitentiary and Portsmouth Harbour.)

A 1989 photo of the West Workshop, which is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building. According to the Directory of Federal Real Property, the workshop is in good condition. (DFRP number 09477.)

The former Prison for Women on 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard. The walls and several buildings were taken down to facilitate the redevelopment of the National Heritage Site of Canada.

25 storey condominiums will be built inside the prison and on the waterfront.

 

The parking lot. A Globe and Mail photo.

Google: CBC Radio All in a Day, 2017: "Sailing Centre, waterfront park touted for Kingston Penitentiary redevelopment". Three of the four perimeter walls will be removed, and the guard towers retained "if possible." 

Corrections Canada is prohibiting the construction of buildings within the red lines.

The park will be accessible to the public.

Correctional Service of Canada-Kingston Harbourfront Property-Environmental Assessment Result. Update  After the environmental assessment and risk assessment were completed, clean up options were presented to the CSC. The option chosen was to excavate and replace the impacted soil so that the land could be revitalized and restored to green space. The re mediated area will no longer be leased for boat slips or long-term boat storage, so the refreshed space  will be open for the public to have access to and enjoy! 2015-16-29.

 Corrections Canada never wanted residential properties on the Harbourfront, see the photo on this blog post--- the restricted land is outlined with red lines. The Penitentiary parking lot is also targeted for housing. Also, the purple and pink areas are the focus of intense redevelopment. Buildings C-1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 9; 13; 23 and 24 are within the purple and pink area.

Buildings that will be demolished for housing and commercial development. Building C-1 is the Dome.  C-2 is the North Wing.  C-3 is the East Wing.  C-4 is the South Wing. C-5 is the West Wing. C-6 is the Fuel Storage.  C-7 is the West Shop Block.  C-9 is the Mason's Shop. C-13 is the Weigh Scale.  C-23 is the Treatment, Recreation and Social Development Centre. C-24 is the garage.

South Workshop Buildings C-1 to C-5. A local historian and writer, Dr. Jennifer McKendry, said that at least 10 Kingston Penitentiary landmarks will be flattened. According to the documents on this page--- the Dome, the workshops, North Wing, East Wing, South Wing and West Wing are expendable.

Classified and Recognized Federal Heritage Buildings.

 Directory of Federal Real Property-Kingston Penitentiary 560 King Street West

Property Number 09477

Custodian: Correctional Service of Canada

Interest: Crown Owned

Restriction: No Restriction

Primary Use: Law Enforcement and Corrections

Municipality: Kingston

Province/Territory: Ontario

Federal Electoral District: Kingston and the Islands

Census Classification: Rural

Land Area: 10.4000 ha (25.6 acres)

Building Count: 42

Floor Area: 48,318 sq. m.

Record Created On: January 18th, 1990

Record Last Modified On: December 16th, 2019

Heritage Buildings 

East Workshop, Recognized

Former Prison for Women, Recognized

Main Cell Block, Classified

Main Cell Block, Classified

Main Cell Block, Classified

South Workshop, Recognized

South Workshop, Recognized

West Workshop, Recognized

South Workshop, Recognized

South Workshop, Recognized

Penitentiary Tower, Recognized

Penitentiary Tower, Recognized

Penitentiary Tower, Recognized

Penitentiary Tower, Recognized

 

The Penitentiary towers are protected by the government of Canada.

Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations Recognized Federal Heritage Building

Address: 555 King Street West, Kingston, Ontario

Recognition Statute: Treasury Board Policy on Management of Real Property

Designation Date: 1990-05-18

Dates: 1841 to 1846 (Construction)

Event, Person, Organization: William Coverdale (Architect)

Other Name (s): Guard Towers D1 - D5

Custodian: Correctional Service of Canada

FHBRO Report Reference: 89-032

DFRP Number: 0947700

 Description of Historic Place The Penitentiary towers are located at each of the four corners along the exterior wall of the Kingston Penitentiary. The projecting round structures are constructed in stone and are reminiscent of Medieval castle architecture. Each tower supports an octagonal guard house with a polygonal shaped roof. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Historical Value

Architectural Value 

Environmental Value

work in progress

The prison farms.

"A new prison will be constructed in Kingston, Ontario, populated from the consolidation of:

Pittsburgh

Joyceville

Collins Bay Institution

Kingston Penitentiary

The Regional Treatment Centre

Warkworth

Millhaven   (Information is from "A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety-Report of the Correctional Service of Canada" 2007---page 198.)

"Joyceville and Pittsburgh farm land could be worth $2 million dollars while the Regional Headquarters at 440 and 462 King Street West in Kingston could net $17 million dollars."("A Roadmap to Strengthening Public Safety" 2007---page 208.) 

Canadian writer Margaret Atwood taped a message to the front door of St. Helen's, 440/462 King Street West in Kingston. The Corrections Canada properties will be sold to real estate developers.

Trying to preserve a national treasure.

January 31, 2005 - Mayor of Kingston Bryan Paterson told Global News that "This particular property has huge benefits for tourism and film and we want to make sure that isn't impacted." (Aaron D'Andrea, Global News,)

 The Hon. Mark Gerretsen, MP for Kingston and the Islands: "At the municipal level, Kingston Mayor Mark Gerretsen said he wants the site to be preserved, but he's more focused on what the closing means for prison workers." (Ottawa puts a $17.6 million dollar price tag on Kingston Penitentiary" by Carys Mills, Globe and Mail, May 20, 2012.)

Ed Grenda, Frontenac Heritage Foundation.

Bill Glover, Councillor for Sydenham District.

Glen Shackleton, Founder/CEO, Haunted Walks Inc.

Kingston City Councillor Bridget Doherty: "I believe it is our responsibility to preserve historic sites for future generations and ensure there are physical reminders from all aspects of the lives that came before." (A November 2018 interview.)

Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands Ted Hsu.

Frontenac Heritage Foundation

Petition - Don't Erase History - Protect the Penitentiary.

"The Kingston Pen is Canada's Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal."

The Pen is a National Historic Site of Canada, and the Main Cell Block and North Lodge are Classified Heritage buildings: 

Properties in Portsmouth Village in Kingston are protected by the Ontario Heritage Act:

A statement about the Pen by the Hon. Mark Gerretsen, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands: "What happens to that site, in my opinion, really should be up to the residents of Kingston, considering the fact that it is federal property." (Q and A with Kingston and the Islands MP Mark Gerretsen, by Ian McAlpine, Whig Standard, February 7, 2016.)

 Possible future of the landmark: 

There is massive opposition to the demolition of the buildings: "The Pen is one of the most historic, famous landmarks in the world---Canada's Eiffel Tower and Taj Mahal. Yet plans are already being made to level buildings and remove walls to permit the construction of housing, new pathways and roads. Will Kingston be a tourism mecca, when the Pen, Prison for Women, Stone Gables, Isabel McNeill House, Collins Bay Institution and Rockwood Asylum are gone? Collins Bay Institution is known as "Disneyland North." (City of Kingston-Projects-Planning-Kingston Penitentiary June 2017, page 23/59.) 

Collins Bay is located on 1455 Bath Road. It is a Federal Heritage Building. 

Bill Glover, a Sydenham city councillor: "It's not inconceivable that they could level the whole site." ("Group tries to get Kingston Penitentiary heritage status" by Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun September 2012.)

Floyd Patterson, President of the Frontenac Heritage Foundation: "The federal government has the power to demolish them (all the Kingston Pen buildings). However, we have concluded that would be absolutely atrocious, grievous, scandalous." (Group tries to get Kingston Penitentiary heritage status" by Peter Hendra, Toronto Sun September 2012.)

Local historian Jennifer McKendry said that 10 buildings are slated for demolition. (Concern raised regarding Penitentiary planning process, by the Coalition of Kingston Communities.) Books by Jennifer McKendry:

History of Portsmouth Village

Enough

Canada is one of the biggest countries in the world. But the citizens of this country are losing irreplaceable land and buildings because of a housing shortage. Properties that will be used for housing include:

A National Historic Site in Kingston - the Kingston Penitentiary.

The Directory of Federal Real Property 1992.

The Greenbelt - the City of Ottawa wanted 13,700 acres of this untouchable land for development.

Athletic arenas and fields - a football field behind the Nepean Sportsplex; Rochester Field beside Maplelawn was a venue for soccer players; a baseball stadium on 300 Coventry Road; the Ottawa Athletic Club was demolished. The DARA Tennis Club on the Experimental Farm is gone. A petition: To save Ottawa's single pad ice rinks-Change.org "The City of  Ottawa wants to close Tom Brown, Dulude, Belltown Dome, McNabb and a few other arenas in the city. These rinks are not only useful but a home for many Minor Hockey Leagues and its players as well as the communities they are located in." The petition had 7,212 signatures.

Ottawa eyes 20 sites for affordable housing development by Geraldine Grones, April 1, 2019 "The Tom Brown Arena, Bob MacQuarrie recreation complex and a baseball stadium on Coventry Road could one day be redeveloped into affordable housing, according to the City of Ottawa. Also on the list: the RCMP Complex on the Vanier Parkway; a 2.4 hectare site in Barrhaven; a small gas station site on Richmond Road; the Forward Family Shelter in Mechanicsville and Park and Rides at Greenboro and Place d'Orleans."