Toronto Central Prison
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The Toronto Central Prison (also known as the Central Prison or Central Prison for Men) was a 600-cell facility located near the intersection on King Street and Strachan Avenue in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1873, when the area was still well away from any residential development. The prison was abandoned in 1915, as changing attitudes toward crime and punishment led to a revamping of the province’s correctional system, and replaced by the Ontario Reformatory in Guelph. For the next five years, the facility was used as an army base and a processing centre for new immigrants.
In 1920, the main prison building was demolished and much of the land sold for use by the railroads. Remaining buildings ended up being used by Hobb's, Dr. Ballard's, and finally by the neighbouring John Inglis and Company Limited until 1981.
All that remains today is the Central Prison's Roman Catholic chapel (added to the main building in 1877) and the Paint Shop1 which became part of the city’s inventory of heritage properties in 1985.
[edit] See Also
Correctional Facilities of Ontario, Canada
