Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail

The Don: The Story of Toronto's Infamous Jail

Poplak, Lorna

Paperback

Canadian HistoryGeneral ArchitectureTrue Crime

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN10: 1459745965
ISBN13: 9781459745964
Publisher: Thomas Allen Publ
Published: Feb 23 2021
Pages: 272
Weight: 0.95
Height: 0.80 Width: 5.90 Depth: 8.90
Language: English
An in-depth exploration of the Don Jail from its inception through jailbreaks and overcrowding to its eventual shuttering and rebirth.

Conceived as a palace for prisoners, the Don Jail never lived up to its promise. Although based on progressive nineteenth-century penal reform and architectural principles, the institution quickly deteriorated into a place of infamy where both inmates and staff were in constant danger of violence and death. Its mid-twentieth-century replacement, the New Don, soon became equally tainted.

Along with investigating the origins and evolution of Toronto's infamous jail, The Don presents a kaleidoscope of memorable characters -- inmates, guards, governors, murderous gangs, meddlesome politicians, harried architects, and even a pair of star-crossed lovers whose doomed romance unfolded in the shadow of the gallows.

This is the story of the Don's tumultuous descent from palace to hellhole, its shuttering and lapse into decay, and its astonishing modern-day metamorphosis.

Speaker's Book Award 2021 -- Shortlisted Brass Knuckles Award for Best Nonfiction Crime Book 2022 -- Shortlisted

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