Architecture
The Don Gaol (pronounced 'jail') was built between 1862 and 1865 (predating Canadian Confederation by two years) with most of the current jail facilities being built in the 1950s, although a jail has stood on the site since 1858. Designed by architect William Thomas in 1852, its distinctive façade in the Italianate style with a pedimented central pavilion and vermiculated columns flanking the main entrance portico is one of the architectural treasures of the city and one of the oldest pre-Confederation (1867) structures that remains intact in Toronto. For example, it is over thirty years older than Toronto's Romanesque Old City Hall. Owing to its sturdy construction, its interior has gone largely unchanged in the last fifty years as renovations would be both difficult and expensive, even in an empty facility; as such, it is considered badly outdated as a prison facility.
The adjoining building was built in 1958 and remained in operation as the Toronto Jail (but retained the "Don Jail" nickname) after the original building closed in 1977.
Read more about this topic: Don Jail
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