Going inside ‘KP:’ Kingston Penitentiary soon open for guided tours

For three weeks, visitors will be able to tour the maximum security facility that’s housed Canada’s worst criminals

Members of the public will have soon have a rare and limited chance to go inside the country's most notorious but soon to be closed prison, the first such opportunity in ages.

For three weeks starting Oct. 2, visitors will be able to tour Kingston Penitentiary, the formidable maximum security facility that has housed Canada's worst criminals. 

The tours, guided by Correctional Service Canada volunteers, are a fundraiser for the United Way in Kingston, Ont.

Bhavana Varma, president of the local United Way branch, calls it an "exciting" opportunity.

"Many of us have lived here and been curious about and intrigued by the historic institution," Varma said Friday. 

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Shutdown of Kingston Pen clears path for Alcatraz North

The shuttering of Canada’s oldest prison has opened up the possibility of turning the Kingston institution into a tourist destination comparable to Alcatraz.
The federal government announced the cost-saving measure of closing the aging Kingston Penitentiary last week. The shutdown will begin next year and will be complete by 2014-15.

The maximum-security institution, on the shores of Lake Ontario, a short drive from downtown, has housed the likes of Paul Bernardo, Russell Williams and Clifford Olson. Notorious inmates, riots and daring escapes have dominated public attention throughout the Pen’s 177-year history in Kingston – but it has also been a steady source of hundreds of jobs for the community.
Once the fortress closes, it could bring something else to Kingston, if there’s support and funding to ensure it isn’t left dormant.

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