Toronto Travel: A Walk through Riverdale

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• published: 29 Sep 2009
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As a huge fan of architecture and history, one of Torontos most well-known and infamous landmarks has long caught my attention: the historic Don Jail. After its closing in 1977, this building has long been inaccessible to the public, but this summer its new owner, the Bridgepoint Health Foundation, opened it up for a few public tours before it will permanently transform this historic structure into a research and administration building. On Friday, September 4, 2009 I headed into the Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto to get ready for my tour of one of Torontos oldest buildings. Riverdale is one of Toronto's most historic neighbourhoods. Located on the east side of the Don Valley, Riverdale offers a charming selection of Victorian and Edwardian-era homes and has become one of Toronto's most sought-after residential districts. It also holds Chinatown East, an ethnic enclave and shopping district that features a large number of Chinese and Vietnamese retail stores. One of the most important historic landmarks of Riverdale is the historic Don Jail. A friend of mine had organized two tickets to one of the last walking tours ever before the impending transformation of the jail. This weekend would be the last time the tours were offered and I was extremely fortunate to be one of the last people to see the Don Jail in its current condition. Our young tour guide took us into the rotunda, a three-story open area in the centre of the structure. Built between 1862 and 1865, the Old Don Jail is one of Torontos oldest and most interesting buildings, and one of the few remaining structures that pre-date confederation. Two horizontal wings stretch out from here which were designed to originally hold 276 prisoners. In reality, the average prisoner load was 620 people, and even todays new Don Jail (opened next door in 1958) is suffering from severe overcrowding. Judges regularly credit prisoners for double or triple time served while awaiting trial due to the poor living conditions in the Toronto Jail. Our guide explained that at the time of its opening the Old Don Jail was criticized for being the palace of prisoners for its luxurious features at the time. This is hard to imagine, when you look at the tiny prison cells, many of them measuring only 1 by 3 metres, and lacking any toilets or sanitary facilities. Winter temperatures in the jail were often as low as 8 to 10 degree Celsius because the jail had no central heating. Early Don Jail prisoners generally only received one shower ever, and only when they entered the prison. Entire families who owed other people money were crammed into family cells that were connected with a small hole to the next cell where the father of the family was imprisoned. The familys small children would be able to climb back and forth between the cells through the tiny hole. For the first 30 years of the jails existence, women and men were imprisoned together without any kind of segregation. Special reinforced high-security cells were constructed for the notorious Boyd Gang which terrorized the streets of Toronto in 1950 with their bank robberies. Many people admired them as the new coming of Robin Hood, until, in 1952, they killed a Toronto policeman. Edwin Alonza Boyd had already broken out of the Don Jail in 1949, using a hacksaw concealed in his partners wooden leg, so when the gang members got caught again, the prison authorities built 4 specially reinforced cells (these ones did include toilets) that were supposed to prevent any breakouts. But the members of the Boyd Gang charmed the prison guards, and by tricking the guards, they managed to get an imprint of the master prison key using a bar of soap and broke out a second time on September 7, 1952. A lawyer had smuggled in a saw blade for them. This breakout was featured in the first-ever broadcast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation which was read by Lorne Greene of Bonanza fame. Two members of the Boyd Gang were later caught in Montreal after a shootout and were sentenced to death and hanged in the Don Jail. We got to see the location of the former gallows; in total 34 prisoners were hanged at the Don Jail; the last two executions took place in 1962. In the early days of the jail, hangings took place outside the jail, attracting large crowds of onlookers. In 1908, the hangings were moved inside into a converted washroom. Although the actual gallows were removed, their location can still be clearly seen against the walls of this indoor execution room. The Don Jail is indeed one of Torontos creepiest and most haunted locations. Our guide even told us of two separate ghost sightings earlier this year in June of 2009. I was extremely lucky to have seen it before its impending transformation.