Notice of Intention: April 8

Notice of Intention to pass a By-law to Designate 

The following property to be of Cultural Heritage Value and Interest Pursuant to the Provisions of the Ontario Heritage Act (R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18) 

Take Notice that the Council of The Corporation of the City of Kingston intends to pass a By-Law under Section 29 of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, Chapter 0.18, to designate the following lands to be of cultural heritage value and interest: 

560 King Street West (Block 183-184 and 192, Plan 54, Except Part 1 on Reference Plan 13R-14792; Together with Easement over Part Block 182, Plan 54, Being Part 12 on Reference Plan 13R-18756 as in FC46925, City of Kingston, County of Frontenac), known as Kingston Penitentiary;  

The property includes 8.5 hectares of land on the south side of King Street West at the terminus of Sir John A Macdonald Boulevard and is adjacent to Portsmouth Olympic Harbour (formerly Hatter’s Bay) within the Portsmouth Village neighbourhood of the City of Kingston. 

Kingston Penitentiary (KP) was the first purpose-built penitentiary in Canada and, at the time of its construction, embodied the most enlightened concepts for the reformation of incarcerated individuals. It is a major institutional complex of largely 19th and early 20th century buildings designed in the neoclassical style and constructed of local limestone. Taken together, the structures, landscape, spatial arrangement and rich layers of meaning associated with KP comprise a cultural heritage landscape that has local, provincial and national significance. 

Kingston Penitentiary (KP) has design value for its high degree of technical achievement, artistic merit and craftsmanship related to its prototypical configuration, layout and spatial organization, in addition to its rich collection of well-crafted 19th century neoclassical structures.  

The 19th century site plan prioritized symmetry, to support ‘an ordered universe’, with a primary north-south axis from the entrance portico/North Lodge carried through the centre of the Main Cell Block and the South Workshop’s Greek-cross design. This symmetry was also expressed in the location/orientation of the Dining Hall/Chapel and Hospital buildings, west and east of the Main Cell Block, and the similar locating of the East and West Workshops relative to the main South Workshop.  

The property’s fine craftsmanship is exhibited in its use of materials and construction methods. The property is a rare and early example of a closed-loop sustainability model of construction. The property displays a very high level of workmanship and elements of technical achievement, particularly exemplified in the ‘flying’ staircase executed in cut stone at the South Workshop rotunda, the remarkable groin-vaulted ceiling in sections of the South Workshop, the basement of the Dining Hall and on the main level of the North Lodge. Also of note are the cast iron ‘winged’ columns designed by Edward Horsey for the Dining Hall that represents an early technical achievement in the use of exposed structural iron. 

The buildings within KP that contribute to the property’s overall cultural heritage value and interest include: 

• The North Lodge (1841-6) with bell cupola (1895);
• The guard towers, particularly the northeast (c.1840) and northwest (1852) towers, and sections of the prison walls;
• The Main Cellblock building (1834-57), excluding the modern gymnasium (1951), kitchen (1956) and disassociation wing (1948);
• The South Workshop (1846-8);
• The Chapel and Dining Hall (1849-52);
• The Hospital (1847);
• The West Workshop (1858-9 and 1876-82);
• The East Workshop (1855-8) with extant isolation cells (1889);
• The Keeper’s Hall (1911); and
• The Women’s Prison (1913). 

KP possesses historical and associative value because it has direct associations with a number of Themes, Persons and Events and demonstrates the work of various architects that are significant to Kingston, the Province of Ontario and to Canada.  

KP was designed to incorporate the most progressive ideas regarding punishment of its day. The very idea of the “penitentiary” – a state-run facility based on principles of reform, rather than simply incarceration – was still relatively new when KP was built. Established in 1835, KP was among the first wave of penitentiaries constructed in North America. The creation of KP was an important step towards a modern, systemic, and rational treatment of legal transgressors. The history and events that occurred at KP provides an understanding of the historic role of corporal punishment and the treatment of youth, women and those experiencing mental illness in the penal system in Canada in the 19th and early 20th century.  

Significant people associated with KP include Hugh Thompson, John Macaulay, Henry Smith, Henry Smith Jr., Philip Pember, Dr. James Sampson, Thomas Kirkpatrick, The Reverend William Herchmer, George Brown and John Creighton, as well as Architects Wiliam Coverdale, Edward Horsey and James Adams.  

Kingston Penitentiary has direct association with the 1848 Brown Commission report that charged Warden Henry Smith with 119 counts of mismanagement of the facility and the neglect and abuse of incarcerated individuals, leading to substantive changes to the Canadian penal system.  

The federal penitentiary system has been a dominant part of Kingston’s socio-economic life throughout most of its history. Kingston has served as the premier focus of the federal penitentiary system in Ontario from its inception. KP has strong contextual value because of its importance in defining, maintaining and supporting the character and growth of Portsmouth Village and the City of Kingston. It is physically and visually linked to its surroundings and is a landmark of national significance. 

Additional information, including a full description of the reasons for designation is available upon request from Ryan Leary, Senior Heritage Planner, Heritage Services at 613-546-4291, extension 3233, or at RLeary@CityofKingston.ca during regular business hours, or by visiting the Development and Services Hub at CityofKingston.ca/DASH.  

Any notice of objection to this notice of intention to designate the property, setting out the reason for objection and all relevant facts, must be served upon the City Clerk within 30 days of the first publication of this notice.

Dated at the City of Kingston

This 8th day of April, 2025

Janet Jaynes, City Clerk 

City of Kingston