Description of Historic Place

Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is a well-proportioned, symmetrical two-storey building with a rectangular plan, mansard roof, and a simple decorative program. Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is located inside the walls of the Collins Bay Institution and is joined to Cellblock B2 by way of a collection of buildings, and to the Administration Building (A1) through the MC main corridor. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is a Recognized Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical value:
Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is associated with the national historic theme of the Canadian justice system and the development of a system of corrections as a response to a need for a graduated tier of penalties to enforce the law. Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 was constructed at the beginning of the second significant phase of non-agricultural development in Kingston Township which was also characterized by the construction of grain elevators in the 1930s and the arrival of Canada Industries Limited in the 1940s. One of the first buildings built inside the walls of the prison, Cellblock B1 signified the permanency of the institution in the community.

Architectural value:
In terms of its architectural design, Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is a very good example of a well-proportioned correctional building distinctive for its scale, simple decorative program, and exterior surface treatment. Originally designed to serve as a paint and carpentry training workshop, Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 features regularly spaced, tall, single round-headed windows, an adaptable interior layout and is notable for its impressive stonework which consists of local limestone.

Environmental value:
Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 is an architecturally prominent masonry building that is compatible with both the institutional character of the prison setting and the eclectic mix of buildings within the prison walls.

Sources:
Dana Johnson, Twenty-Five Buildings, Collins Bay Institution, Kingston, Ontario. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 01-096; Cellblock B1, Collins Bay Penitentiary, Kingston, Ontario, Heritage Character Statement 01-096.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of Collins Bay Institution, Cell Block, Building B-1 should be respected.

Its role as an illustration of the development of a system of corrections as a response to a need for a graduated tier of penalties to enforce the law is reflected in:
-the building’s solid and simple aesthetic which signified the permanency of the Collins Bay Institution in the community.

Its scale, simple decorative program, and high quality exterior materials and craftsmanship as manifested in:
-the well proportioned, symmetrical composition of this rectangular two-storey building which also features a medium pitch mansard roof;
-the tall, single round-headed windows placed at regular intervals along a continuous watertable; and,
-the treatment of the exterior walls which consist of random coursed and coursed rusticated limestone accented by a smoothly dressed limestone watertable and window and door surrounds.

The manner in which the building reinforces the institutional character of the prison setting as evidenced in:
-the building’s form, materials and simple detailing; and,
-its location within the walls of the prison complex in close proximity to Cellblock B2 and the Administration Building (A1).