Kingston Penitentiary
Kingston Penitentiary front entrance
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| Location | Kingston, Ontario |
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| Security class | Maximum security |
| Capacity | 564 |
| Opened | June 1, 1835 |
| Closed | September 30, 2013 |
| Managed by | Correctional Service Canada |
| Designated | 1990 |
Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario.
Constructed in 1833–34, and opened on June 1, 1835 as the "Provincial Penitentiary of the Province of Upper Canada", it was one of the oldest prisons in continuous use in the world at the time of its closure. Kingston Penitentiary was one of nine prisons in the Kingston area which range from low-security facilities to the maximum-security facilities Kingston Penitentiary and Millhaven Institution (which was initially built to replace Kingston Pen).
The institution was built on land described as "lot number twenty, in the first concession of the Township of Kingston". The cells originally measured 73.7 (26 inches) wide by 244cm (8 feet) deep 200.7 cm (6 feet, 7 inches) high. The area had a high picket of 12 feet wood fence. In 1845 towers, stock walls and north gate house were completed. In 1859 – 1861 dome was added connecting four cellblocks.
The site was chosen for "combining the advantages of perfect salubrity, ready access to the water, and abundant quantities of fine limestone." Six inmates were accepted when the penitentiary was opened. Charles Dickens visited Kingston in 1842 and commented in his American Notes, "There is an admirable jail here, well and wisely governed, and excellently regulated, in every respect. The men were employed as shoemakers, ropemakers, blacksmiths, tailors, carpenters, and stonecutters; and in building a new prison, which was pretty far advanced towards completion. The female prisoners were occupied in needlework."
The penitentiary's western wall adjoins the Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, which hosted the sailing events for the 1976 Summer Olympics. Immediately across the road to the north is the now closed Kingston Prison For Women (the property is now owned by Queen's University), opened on January 24, 1934 to take female prisoners who had been housed in segregated quarters in the main facility.
On August 14, 1954, a two-hour riot broke out in the penitentiary—the worst in its history up to that point—involving 900 inmates. During the riot a breakout was attempted, but was foiled by the guards at the gate. The trouble apparently began during a morning baseball game in the exercise yard, when a guard was attacked, followed by several inmates setting fire to various buildings in the yard, including the shops and a warehouse, causing an estimated $2 million in damages. The disturbance was quelled by the guards aided by 160 Canadian Army troops and a squad of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers. The 50 ringleaders were placed in solitary confinement.
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