Remember Monopoly? Do not pass go, go directly to jail! So that is what I did the other day when I stopped by Ottawa's original jail. No longer a grey and grim jail, it is now a travel hostel where you can sleep for not much money. Fortunately the plumbing has been upgraded since the 1800s!
The Carleton County Gaol was finished in 1862 and was situated next door to the Carleton County Courthouse. Both buildings were built of solid stone by some of the many Scottish stone masons brought out to Canada to build the Rideau Canal. Upon completion of the canal many of them elected to stay in the new country and evidence of their work proliferates throughout the city and surrounding towns.
What a fun place to visit!
ReplyDeleteYes, next time I will go in. I was only in the parking lot where the last hanging in Canada took place. Jails are certainly grim!
DeleteThat's beautiful stone work. Did they preserve any of the inside of the old jail?
ReplyDeleteDoes not look really like a jail
ReplyDeleteIt also looked like one of those mental hospitals of a long ago time ...
ReplyDeleteLooks like a jail
ReplyDeleteCertainly looks worth a return visit
ReplyDelete