I keep a weblog like it's still the 90s. For commentary and dissent please visit jontaylor.ca, or various other purveyors of thought online.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Queen's buys Women's Prison

Kingston - In a move that will likely bring a weary sigh from most Queen's alumni, Kingston's venerable academic institution (founded 1841) has announced that it will be taking over the site of the former Kingston Penitentiary for Women, located across the street from Queen's West Campus.

The Crown Lands Corporation - the present owner of the prison site - has agreed to demolish three of the four walls surrounding the former prison, as well as all 'non-heritage' structures on the property. The fourth wall will remain to keep law-abiding Portsmouth residents safe from Queen's undergraduates.

The university has pledged to respect the heritage designation of the historic stone structures which make up the prison. No word yet on how it plans to put hundreds of cell-sized rooms to academic use. The prison will be turned over to the school in 2008.