Kingston Penitentiary launches summer tour season

For the third year in a row the Kingston Penitentiary will be open for public tours. 

The prison housed killers like Paul Bernardo, Russell Williams and Clifford Olson during its 178 years. 

In October and November 2013, the prison was open for public tours as part of a fundraiser for the KFLA United Way. The event was so successful that the St. Lawrence Parks Commission made it a regular attraction in 2016. 

Since the first summer, over 165,000 people have taken the tour of the the Kingston Penitentiary. 

Geoff Waycik, Director of Historic Sites explained to 1310NEWS that the grounds are well cared for, with a large garden just inside the gates, but the inside is much different. 

“The penitentiary itself, once you get into the cell ranges, is a rather almost depressing type of area to think that people had spent a good portion of their lives in there.” 

Waycik said that much of the tour focuses on the history behind prison, how it was built by inmates, about the prison riots in 1954 and 1971 as well as the escapes. 

The tour runs from May 9th until October 28th and spaces are booked up quickly. 

Tickets for the tour range in price from around $35 to $60 depending on the type of tour. 

For more information click here.