Resembling a regal country estate, the expansive limestone building with high stone walls on Bath Road has castle-like features, capturing the imaginations of passers-by. Elaborate stonework and large windows are enhanced by towers capped with red roofing. The appealing building on spacious grounds with pretty landscaping is not a private home, it is Collins Bay Penitentiary.

In the 1920s, the need for a distinct prison to house non-violent inmates was discussed. It would be “a special penitentiary in which young, tractable inmates would be isolated from more hardened criminals,” said editor Jean Webb in “Return to society emphasized at Collins Bay Penitentiary” (Federal Corrections, Jul-Aug-Sept 1967, Vol. 6 No. 3). Put aside for a time by penal authorities, the plan was revived during t

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