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26-524: The 'Don Gaol' was built between 1858 and 1864, with a new wing being built in the 1950s. Designed by architect William Thomas in 1852, it was constructed with a distinctive facade in the Italianate style, with a pedimented central pavilion and vermiculated columns flanking the main entrance portico. It is one of the oldest pre- Confederation structures that remains intact in Toronto . The Don Jail

52-462: A builder and surveyor. He became a member of the Tutin family by marrying Martha, a member of the Tutin family. During this time he revised his title to architect, however, a depression in the city forced the closure of the firm and he moved to Leamington. Thomas began his own practice at Leamington Spa in 1831 where he designed many buildings, but in 1837 went bankrupt. In 1843, during a depression in

78-433: A hospital for those with chronic ailments and/or needing rehabilitation. When the newly named Bridgepoint Health (now Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital) demolished the 1950s-era Riverdale Hospital building to replace it with a new 10-storey facility, the historic Don Jail building was extensively renovated to serve as the administrative wing for the hospital, a process which included the removal of "150 years worth of grime" from

104-465: A pseudonym. English's career as Canada's professional hangman ended in ignominy following the botched execution of Tommasina Teolis, who had been convicted of hiring two hit men to kill her husband, at Bordeaux Prison in Montreal on 28 March 1935. The long drop method of hanging was used, where the condemned would be executed by the weight of their body snapping their neck after they fell through

130-493: A reform prison, and once dubbed the "Palace for Prisoners" because of its progressive approach to the wellness and living conditions of inmates, the reputation of the Don Jail soured over the years due to overcrowding and other factors. The jail's bad reputation contributed to the closure of the historic jail building in 1977. The east wing was constructed to house 276 prisoners, but at the end of its service its "rated capacity"

156-491: Is estimated he carried out more than 600 hangings in all of Canada's provinces and incorporated territories. English began his role as the assistant to John Radclive , a 20-year veteran of Canadian hangings. The only official method of capital punishment in Canada since the fall of New France was hanging . In his capacity as official executioner, English adopted the surname of the famous English executioner, John Ellis , as

182-589: Is the only jail to have been officially designated the Toronto Jail, yet has rarely been referred to as such outside official circles, with the facility more commonly known as the Don Jail or 'The Don'. The first King Street Gaol , the second King Street Gaol and the Toronto Central Prison were all colloquially known as the Toronto Jail, and the Don Jail likely earned its unofficial name to distinguish it from these other facilities. In 1952,

208-684: The Great Depression , carried out his first execution there in July 1931. Twenty-six men were hanged on the jail's indoor gallows. The jail saw three double hangings: Roy Hotrum and William McFadden in August 1921; Leonard Jackson and Steven Suchan in December 1952; Ronald Turpin and Arthur Lucas on 11 December 1962. Turpin and Lucas had each been convicted in separate murders, and their executions were Canada's last before capital punishment

234-464: The coat of arms in the central gable, at Bishop's Palace, and exterior embellishments on St. Lawrence Hall. He was also Toronto's city engineer when John George Howard made a trip to England in 1853. He died in Toronto, aged about sixty. Two of his sons, William Tutin Thomas and Cyrus Pole Thomas, also became architects. Thomas is sometimes incorrectly credited with the architectural design and

260-625: The British building industry, he emigrated to Canada with his wife and 10 children to Toronto , where his career flourished. He designed some of the finest Decorated Gothic Revival architecture in Ontario. Between 1845 and 1850, Thomas worked extensively with the trio of Scottish sculptors John Cochrane and Brothers . They were responsible for work such as the interior decorations of St. Paul's Cathedral, stone and stucco ornamentation inside St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica and stone carving, including

286-487: The City of Toronto's heritage preservation staff and some Councillors wanted Bridgepoint Health to retain the steel bars on all of the old jail's windows. Fearing that the barred windows were incompatible with the hospital's objectives of openness and well-being, Bridgepoint Health was able to convince City Council to only require that grilles be maintained on the windows not serving patient rooms or staff offices. The east wing

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312-442: The deplorable conditions at the Don Jail. In R. v. Smith [2003] O.J. No. 1782, Justice Richard Schneider set a precedent in this regard by crediting persons serving time in the facility awaiting trial with three days against their sentence for every day spent in the facility, as opposed to the "2-for-1" pre-trial custody credit typically given during criminal sentencing in Canada at the time. In R. v. Permesar [2003] O.J. No. 5420,

338-495: The elaborate stone carvings on Victoria Hall in Cobourg, Ontario . In fact, Kivas Tully designed the building and the fine sandstone carvings are the work of master stone carver Charles Thomas Thomas (no relation). Arthur B. English Alexander Armstrong English (he used the pseudonym Arthur Ellis ; 1864/1865 – 21 July 1938) was a British national who was the official hangman of Canada between 1912 and 1935. It

364-514: The exterior. About 20 per cent of the former jail's heritage interior was preserved, including the centre block's half-octagonal rotunda featuring clerestory windows, as well as original iron railings and balconies supported by griffin and serpent cast-iron brackets. The punishment and death row cells, and the former gallows tower (where an outline of the timber framing remains on the interior walls), were also preserved, to remain behind closed doors except for occasions such as Doors Open . In 2008,

390-419: The gallows' trap door. However, English used a miscalculation for Teolis' weight, which resulted in her dropping too far and being decapitated. This shocking event led to a public outcry that permanently ended English's career. Although since 1 January 1870, all executions in Canada were conducted in private, members of the public could still attend upon invitation from the prison or provincial authorities. This

416-554: The jail was the subject of the first ever television news report on the CBC Television English-language network when the Boyd Gang , a notorious group of bank robbers , broke out of the facility for the second time. The news anchor was future Bonanza star Lorne Greene . In 1974, James J. Benko was the youngest bank robber to escape from the Don Jail at age 16. An adjoining, modernist east wing

442-473: The jail yard. The indoor facility was seen as an improvement because outdoor executions were quasi-public (at the hanging of Fred Lee Rice on July 18, 1902, crowds had lined surrounding rooftops to see something of the spectacle) and because the condemned didn't have to walk as far. The best-known Canadian hangmen, such as John Radclive, Arthur Ellis and Camille Blanchard, hanged men at the Toronto Jail. The Toronto-based hangman Samuel Edwards, who worked during

468-679: The late leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada and former Member of Parliament for the area. The prison and hospital also served as the location of the fictional Dyad institute in the Canadian TV show Orphan Black . The rotunda of the jail was also used as a set for The Cell Block bar in the movie Cocktail (1988). 43°39′58″N 79°21′14″W  /  43.66618°N 79.353972°W  / 43.66618; -79.353972 William Thomas (architect) William Thomas ( c.  1799 – 26 December 1860)

494-528: The reporter, whom he led Jail officials to believe was a member of his staff, as part of his entourage. Before capital punishment was abolished in Canada, the Toronto Jail was the site of a number of hangings . Starting with the execution of John Boyd in January 1908, hangings at the jail took place in an indoor chamber, which was a converted washroom, at the northeast corner of the old building. Previously, condemned men had been hanged on an outdoor scaffold in

520-753: The same judge noted that the prison failed to meet the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners set by the United Nations . These conditions were also brought to light by a controversial article appearing in the Toronto Star after journalist Linda Diebel was smuggled into the prison by Dave Levac , a sympathetic Ontario MPP . Mr. Levac faced censure by the Integrity Commissioner for bringing in

546-443: Was 550, and its average prisoner load was about 620. In addition, as a "short-term" jail, it was not designed with adequate visitor facilities, exercise areas, telephones, lawyer meeting rooms, showers, or even laundry facilities. However, the average stay was 30–90 days, and many prisoners were kept there for months. It was often overburdened by a large number of arrested persons awaiting arraignment . Courts took judicial notice of

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572-496: Was abolished. In 2007, human remains were found on the jail's grounds during an archaeological assessment. The Don Jail has long shared its site with a hospital. The original House of Refuge was built in 1860 on the same property as a home for "vagrants, the dissolute, and for idiots". The House of Refuge became the Riverdale Isolation Hospital in 1875 during a smallpox epidemic, and later evolved into

598-576: Was an Anglo-Canadian architect . His son William Tutin Thomas (1829–1892) was also an architect, working mostly in Montreal , Quebec. Thomas was born in Suffolk , England. He was apprenticed to a local builder after his family moved to Gloucestershire. His two older brothers became master glaziers and younger brother was the sculptor John Thomas , apprenticed under Sir Charles Barry and A. W. Pugin (born 1813). On completion of his apprenticeship, William moved to Birmingham to work for Richard Tutin,

624-554: Was built in 1958. When the original Don Jail building ceased to be used for housing offenders in 1977, the east wing remained in operation as the Toronto Jail (retaining the Don Jail moniker). The east wing continued to serve as a jail until December 31, 2013, when a new facility, the Toronto South Detention Centre , was completed on the site of the former Mimico Correctional Centre. Originally designed as

650-687: Was ended following the beheading of Teolis. Three years later, English died in poverty in Montreal on 21 July 1938. He was buried at the Mount Royal Cemetery . The Crime Writers of Canada present annual literary awards, which were known as the Arthur Ellis Awards from 1984 until 2020. English's career is referenced in the novella The Hangman by Canadian crime writer (and two-time Arthur Ellis Award winner) Louise Penny . In 2009 Alexander English/Ellis featured in

676-583: Was formally decommissioned on January 6, 2014, at which point it too was transferred to Bridgepoint Health and demolished in March and April of that same year. The site of the former east wing will become landscaped open space and will potentially be used for a future expansion of the hospital facilities. The grounds of the former jail are being landscaped into a city park to be named Hubbard Park after William Peyton Hubbard . The former Don Jail Roadway has been extended and renamed Jack Layton Way after Jack Layton ,

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