Kingston's go-to source for news, events, arts & culture, restaurants, sports and recreation.
A former Corrections Canada employee has been charged with smuggling contraband into Collins Bay Institution. The OPP-led Joint Forces Penitentiary Squad, under direction of the OPP Criminal Investigation Branch, have charged 35-year-old Stephanie Sly, of Elgin, Ontario in connection with the smuggling of several types of contraband into the Kingston
Read more
Since tours of Kingston Penitentiary began in 2016, the popular attraction for tourists and locals alike has contributed approximately $1.54 million to local youth homelessness initiatives through the United Way. On the grounds of the historic building that thousands have now toured, the cheque for final installment of 50 per
Read more
Kingstonist’s best of 2015 continues with an absolute gem from our dear friends at Queen’s Archives. Longtime Kingstonians will undoubtedly remember Queen’s University’s unprecedented relocation of three houses from Union Street to make way for the construction of Stauffer Library. The intricate evolution required months of planning and coordination, while
Read more
Some recent history for a change! Usually from the archives we feature older photographs from another century but that is not entirely representative of all of the material we have here in our holdings. Much of the material we have is of a more contemporary vintage. This photograph is from
Read more
For the last 178 years, Kingston Penitentiary has been looming over the city, both literally and figuratively. The massive Victorian façade hides a painful past that most of the city will never really understand: behind those walls were riots, deaths, and torturous punishment. When KP closed last fall, the sold-out
Read more
The closure of Kingston Penitentiary was met with guarded concern regarding the impact on the local economy, as well as watchful concern regarding what might become of Canada’s oldest continuously used prison. Soon after the last cells at KP were vacated, Kingstonians were offered a glimpse of its future potential
Read more
With just over two weeks remaining until the arrival of 2014, it’s time for a quick look at the headlines and news stories that shaped the past year for Kingstonians. The city dove headfirst into 2013 with a debate regarding electoral boundaries and student voters that was eventually settled by
Read more
First came the controversial news that Kingston Penitentiary would close. Then came the widespread speculation regarding what would become of the former home of Canada’s most dangerous offenders. Soon thereafter, curious citizens were tempted by a unique, one-time only opportunity, to catch a glimpse behind the storied walls of Kingston’s
Read more
The decision to close Kingston Penitentiary was undeniably the Limestone City’s biggest and most controversial headline of 2012. The initial announcement was met with a flood of disappointment and skepticism as Kingstonians challenged Ottawa to demonstrate how the closure of Canada’s oldest prison would result in savings for tax payers,
Read more
My disbelief regarding the decision to close down Kingston Penitentiary has led me to adopt the mentality that I’ll believe it when I see it. The prospect of mothballing Canada’s oldest jail, an institution that is so intimately tied to Kingston’s storied past, is difficult for many of us to
Read more
With less than two weeks remaining until the arrival of 2013, it’s time for our annual review of the headlines and news stories that shaped the past year for Kingstonians. Last December, a majority of our readers voted that the Shafia Family murder trial was the top story of 2011,
Read more
The Skeleton Park Community Songbook is an arts project slash fundraising initiative, which has amassed a dozen musical collaborations pairing local professional musicians with various community organizations. Today, we’re featuring the last official contribution from Chris Brown and the Pittsburgh Institution Choir who’ve joined forces to perform Oblivion. This track
Read more