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From the Globe, Toronto Section:
If these doors would open . . .
The historic Don Jail -- soon to be office space -- will keep its gates shut during Doors Open
JOHN LORINC
Special to The Globe and Mail
For most people, it's far more important to stay out of a jail than to get into one. But as the organizers of the city's annual Doors Open festival know, thousands of Torontonians would be prepared to, well, commit a crime for a chance to tour the Toronto (Don) Jail, that forbidding limestone penitentiary that has stood guard over the Don Valley for more than 150 years.
In 2000 and 2001, the last time it was part of the popular architectural showcase, the lineups to see the Don snaked down to Gerrard Street, and included families, Gen Y hipsters and even a few former inmates. "The public response was overwhelming," says Jane French, the city official who oversees Doors Open. "One dad said to me, 'I want my kid to see that this is where you can end up if you go down the wrong road.' "
Yet when Doors Open organizers unveil their roster of buildings next week, the storied institution -- site of Canada's last execution, in 1962 -- won't be on the list. Again.
The property changed hands five years ago and has been virtually off limits ever since, despite a heritage easement on the historic site that requires the landlord to provide access to the public. The current owner is Bridgepoint Health, which is redeveloping the site along with the former Riverdale Hospital to the north. The controversial project will demolish the existing hospital and a 1960s wing of the jail -- while the original prison building, nearly 150 years old, will be converted into office space.
"Our future plans are that we are committed to opening it up," Bridgepoint spokeswoman Diane Whidden says. "But right now, we aren't and we can't."
The reason? The property is being managed by a contractor for the Ontario Realty Corp., whose lawyers contend that the presence of environmental hazards, such as peeling lead paint and mould in the jail's basement, make it unsafe to visit.
But the government permitted small group tours six years ago, and even paid to provide security. In fact, heritage architect Michael McClelland, who is advising Bridgepoint, doesn't believe the conditions pose a genuine safety risk. "There could be controlled access," he says. "The sticking point is the ORC."
The agency, which manages Ontario government land holdings, is "worried about liability and they've been reluctant to participate [in Doors Open]," says Sean Fraser, manager of conservation services for the Ontario Heritage Trust, a provincial agency. Mr. Fraser says the ORC has been unwilling to spend the money on insurance and repairs to ensure that the tours can be conducted safely.
Acknowledging the public's interest in the jail, ORC spokesman Jim Butticci says that when it opened in 2001, the agency spent $25,000 on security guards and guides but managed to get only 640 visitors in. "Quite frankly, it wasn't cost-effective."
However, it may be that Bridgepoint officials aren't keen on allowing the public in because they're focused on kick-starting their refurbishment project, which is expected to take until 2012. Last month, the company announced that it was hiring two architectural firms, Stantec and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg, to oversee the $60-million project. A KPMB spokesperson says it's too soon to discuss details for the renovation of the old jail, though it will serve as administration space for the hospital.
Built in the 1860s, the Don Jail is one of Toronto's two surviving major civic buildings from that era, the other being St. Lawrence Hall. Both were designed by William Thomas. "It was meant to be a very advanced idea about how the penal system works," Mr. McClelland says.
Built amid the farms on the as-yet-undeveloped east side of the Don River, the jail was one of North America's largest reformist prisons, with inmates sent to work in the fields as part of their rehabilitation. The historic wing was closed in 1974, although the modern wing will continue to function as a jail until a new location can be found.
The historic interior features a rotunda and a three-storey-high hall once illuminated by a skylight. "It's a very sobering room to be in," Mr. McClelland says.
Other historic details include cast-iron brackets and a stain on a wall where the scaffold once stood. Says Doors Open's Ms. French, "There's something voyeuristic in all of us that wants to see something like that."
The public's pent-up interest in visiting the Don is hardly unique to Toronto. San Francisco's notorious Alcatraz Island penitentiary is one of that city's top three tourist attractions, drawing 1.4 million visitors annually. In the past 20 years, the National Park Service has invested $15-million (U.S.) in the site, adding museums and audio-visual features. "We're sold out for seven or eight months of the year," Alcatraz park ranger Rich Weideman says. "In the summer, we turn away 4,000 to 6,000 people on a typical day."
DOORS OPEN HIGHLIGHTS
Doors Open organizers say this year's festival, which will be held May 26 and 27, will feature a number of green buildings among its 150 sites. The full list will be released next week, but it will include:
Bloorview Kids Rehab, the innovative new hospital near Bayview and Eglinton;
The SAS Building, a green office tower on King Street East with a rainwater capture system and natural ventilation;
The Noor Cultural Centre in Don Mills, a pioneering building that once housed Toronto's Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and is now a Muslim community centre renovated by its original architects, Moriyama and Teshima;
The Toronto Transit Commission's Lower Bay subway station and the Harvey Shops, a bus and streetcar repair facility at Bathurst and Davenport.
The full list will be available at www.toronto.ca/doorsopen as of tomorrow.
-- J.L.
AoD
If these doors would open . . .
The historic Don Jail -- soon to be office space -- will keep its gates shut during Doors Open
JOHN LORINC
Special to The Globe and Mail
For most people, it's far more important to stay out of a jail than to get into one. But as the organizers of the city's annual Doors Open festival know, thousands of Torontonians would be prepared to, well, commit a crime for a chance to tour the Toronto (Don) Jail, that forbidding limestone penitentiary that has stood guard over the Don Valley for more than 150 years.
In 2000 and 2001, the last time it was part of the popular architectural showcase, the lineups to see the Don snaked down to Gerrard Street, and included families, Gen Y hipsters and even a few former inmates. "The public response was overwhelming," says Jane French, the city official who oversees Doors Open. "One dad said to me, 'I want my kid to see that this is where you can end up if you go down the wrong road.' "
Yet when Doors Open organizers unveil their roster of buildings next week, the storied institution -- site of Canada's last execution, in 1962 -- won't be on the list. Again.
The property changed hands five years ago and has been virtually off limits ever since, despite a heritage easement on the historic site that requires the landlord to provide access to the public. The current owner is Bridgepoint Health, which is redeveloping the site along with the former Riverdale Hospital to the north. The controversial project will demolish the existing hospital and a 1960s wing of the jail -- while the original prison building, nearly 150 years old, will be converted into office space.
"Our future plans are that we are committed to opening it up," Bridgepoint spokeswoman Diane Whidden says. "But right now, we aren't and we can't."
The reason? The property is being managed by a contractor for the Ontario Realty Corp., whose lawyers contend that the presence of environmental hazards, such as peeling lead paint and mould in the jail's basement, make it unsafe to visit.
But the government permitted small group tours six years ago, and even paid to provide security. In fact, heritage architect Michael McClelland, who is advising Bridgepoint, doesn't believe the conditions pose a genuine safety risk. "There could be controlled access," he says. "The sticking point is the ORC."
The agency, which manages Ontario government land holdings, is "worried about liability and they've been reluctant to participate [in Doors Open]," says Sean Fraser, manager of conservation services for the Ontario Heritage Trust, a provincial agency. Mr. Fraser says the ORC has been unwilling to spend the money on insurance and repairs to ensure that the tours can be conducted safely.
Acknowledging the public's interest in the jail, ORC spokesman Jim Butticci says that when it opened in 2001, the agency spent $25,000 on security guards and guides but managed to get only 640 visitors in. "Quite frankly, it wasn't cost-effective."
However, it may be that Bridgepoint officials aren't keen on allowing the public in because they're focused on kick-starting their refurbishment project, which is expected to take until 2012. Last month, the company announced that it was hiring two architectural firms, Stantec and Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg, to oversee the $60-million project. A KPMB spokesperson says it's too soon to discuss details for the renovation of the old jail, though it will serve as administration space for the hospital.
Built in the 1860s, the Don Jail is one of Toronto's two surviving major civic buildings from that era, the other being St. Lawrence Hall. Both were designed by William Thomas. "It was meant to be a very advanced idea about how the penal system works," Mr. McClelland says.
Built amid the farms on the as-yet-undeveloped east side of the Don River, the jail was one of North America's largest reformist prisons, with inmates sent to work in the fields as part of their rehabilitation. The historic wing was closed in 1974, although the modern wing will continue to function as a jail until a new location can be found.
The historic interior features a rotunda and a three-storey-high hall once illuminated by a skylight. "It's a very sobering room to be in," Mr. McClelland says.
Other historic details include cast-iron brackets and a stain on a wall where the scaffold once stood. Says Doors Open's Ms. French, "There's something voyeuristic in all of us that wants to see something like that."
The public's pent-up interest in visiting the Don is hardly unique to Toronto. San Francisco's notorious Alcatraz Island penitentiary is one of that city's top three tourist attractions, drawing 1.4 million visitors annually. In the past 20 years, the National Park Service has invested $15-million (U.S.) in the site, adding museums and audio-visual features. "We're sold out for seven or eight months of the year," Alcatraz park ranger Rich Weideman says. "In the summer, we turn away 4,000 to 6,000 people on a typical day."
DOORS OPEN HIGHLIGHTS
Doors Open organizers say this year's festival, which will be held May 26 and 27, will feature a number of green buildings among its 150 sites. The full list will be released next week, but it will include:
Bloorview Kids Rehab, the innovative new hospital near Bayview and Eglinton;
The SAS Building, a green office tower on King Street East with a rainwater capture system and natural ventilation;
The Noor Cultural Centre in Don Mills, a pioneering building that once housed Toronto's Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre and is now a Muslim community centre renovated by its original architects, Moriyama and Teshima;
The Toronto Transit Commission's Lower Bay subway station and the Harvey Shops, a bus and streetcar repair facility at Bathurst and Davenport.
The full list will be available at www.toronto.ca/doorsopen as of tomorrow.
-- J.L.
AoD