The Don Jail closes its doors
The Don Jail closes its doors
I didn’t see this one coming, but I just got this in from the media company promoting the Don Jail. Seems like there are legal issues with this site. Too bad because I was hoping that i’d be able to go during the summer. The press release is below:
“The Historic Don Jail, which was to be open for public tours and events this summer, will now remain closed. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Torontonians and tourists to see the inside of this architectural gem before it is gutted to build Bridgepoint’s new hospital administration offices has been lost forever.
Bridgepoint has pulled the plug on the project before any events could take place, leaving their event management company, Slingshot Inc., event planners, and the public high and dry.
Slingshot Inc. announced today that an ongoing battle between the Jail’s owner, Bridgepoint Health (Hospital) and the Ontario Realty Corporation, a leaseholder, have prevented the activities from taking place.
Slingshot, who signed a contract with Bridgepoint to manage the activities at the Jail, is understandably devastated. The company’s marketing campaign created tremendous buzz within the event community and among the thousands of history buffs who wanted to see inside the historic facility. “Everything had fallen into place. We were inundated with requests by planners wanting to produce events in the building.” We were also overjoyed with the number of people who wanted to take one of the guided tours we developed” stated Slingshot partner Chris MacKechnie.
This hard work appears to have been the project’s undoing. Just two days after the company’s PR campaign earned space in virtually every media vehicle in the city, the project was halted when employees at the Ontario Realty Corporation saw the coverage.
The Ontario Realty Corporation, a tenant of the building, refused to allow the contract to proceed.
Slingshot was invited to attend a meeting with Bridgepoint, the ORC, and a number of other government departments to discuss moving forward. At that time, Nik Chatterjee of the ORC stated to the group that the ORC had never been advised of the activities that Slingshot had been contracted to produce at the Jail.
Nobody from Bridgepoint challenged the statement making Slingshot believe that the ORC was kept in the dark of the plans, causing a rift between the two parties with Slingshot caught in the middle. There was no workable way to proceed.
“Because we had a solid contract with the Hospital, we thought our plans were approved. We had no idea that there was another party who could pull the plug. It appears that Bridgepoint did not have the authority to sign the contract they wrote. And the ORC seemed determined to prevent any activities from taking place in the building” stated MacKechnie.
“We are a small business, so the damage this has caused to our company, both to our finances as well as to our reputation is devastating.” Because its efforts have been focused on the Jail project for months, the company now finds itself without any other projects booked until well into October.
“We feel badly for the people who pre purchased tour tickets, we feel badly for the events we have had to cancel on the organizers, and we feel badly for our staff that we have had to let go unexpectedly just as everything was starting to pay off. Most importantly, we feel horrible that Torontonians and tourists will never have the opportunity to witness this important piece of history and architecture, and to hear, see, and feel its stories. It is a real loss. Why the people making the decisions could not see that, I will never understand.”
The 145-year-old Jail is an architectural wonder that few people have ever seen. Its gothic architecture featured an awe-inspiring rotunda with walkways encircling it being supported by wrought-iron dragons and snakes.
When it was closed in 1977, the building was padlocked and has remained vacant ever since. The summer opening would have been the first and only time the public could have seen this building before it is gutted and turned into the offices of a new hospital being erected by Bridgepoint.”
For more information, check out the Don Jail’s website.
The Historic Don Jail, which was to be open for public tours and events this summer, will now remain closed. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Torontonians and tourists to see the inside of this architectural gem before it is gutted to build Bridgepoint’s new hospital administration offices has been lost forever.
Bridgepoint has pulled the plug on the project before any events could take place, leaving their event management company, Slingshot Inc., event planners, and the public high and dry.
Slingshot Inc. announced today that an ongoing battle between the Jail’s owner, Bridgepoint Health (Hospital) and the Ontario Realty Corporation, a leaseholder, have prevented the activities from taking place.
Slingshot, who signed a contract with Bridgepoint to manage the activities at the Jail, is understandably devastated. The company’s marketing campaign created tremendous buzz within the event community and among the thousands of history buffs who wanted to see inside the historic facility. “Everything had fallen into place. We were inundated with requests by planners wanting to produce events in the building.” We were also overjoyed with the number of people who wanted to take one of the guided tours we developed” stated Slingshot partner Chris MacKechnie.
This hard work appears to have been the project’s undoing. Just two days after the company’s PR campaign earned space in virtually every media vehicle in the city, the project was halted when employees at the Ontario Realty Corporation saw the coverage.
The Ontario Realty Corporation, a tenant of the building, refused to allow the contract to proceed.
Slingshot was invited to attend a meeting with Bridgepoint, the ORC, and a number of other government departments to discuss moving forward. At that time, Nik Chatterjee of the ORC stated to the group that the ORC had never been advised of the activities that Slingshot had been contracted to produce at the Jail.
Nobody from Bridgepoint challenged the statement making Slingshot believe that the ORC was kept in the dark of the plans, causing a rift between the two parties with Slingshot caught in the middle. There was no workable way to proceed.
“Because we had a solid contract with the Hospital, we thought our plans were approved. We had no idea that there was another party who could pull the plug. It appears that Bridgepoint did not have the authority to sign the contract they wrote. And the ORC seemed determined to prevent any activities from taking place in the building” stated MacKechnie.
“We are a small business, so the damage this has caused to our company, both to our finances as well as to our reputation is devastating.” Because its efforts have been focused on the Jail project for months, the company now finds itself without any other projects booked until well into October.
“We feel badly for the people who pre purchased tour tickets, we feel badly for the events we have had to cancel on the organizers, and we feel badly for our staff that we have had to let go unexpectedly just as everything was starting to pay off. Most importantly, we feel horrible that Torontonians and tourists will never have the opportunity to witness this important piece of history and architecture, and to hear, see, and feel its stories. It is a real loss. Why the people making the decisions could not see that, I will never understand.”
The 145-year-old Jail is an architectural wonder that few people have ever seen. Its gothic architecture featured an awe-inspiring rotunda with walkways encircling it being supported by wrought-iron dragons and snakes.
When it was closed in 1977, the building was padlocked and has remained vacant ever since. The summer opening would have been the first and only time the public could have seen this building before it is gutted and turned into the offices of a new hospital being erected by Bridgepoint.
For more information, check out the Don Jail’s website.
The Historic Don Jail, which was to be open for public tours and events this summer, will now remain closed. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Torontonians and tourists to see the inside of this architectural gem before it is gutted to build Bridgepoint’s new hospital administration offices has been lost forever.
Bridgepoint has pulled the plug on the project before any events could take place, leaving their event management company, Slingshot Inc., event planners, and the public high and dry.
Slingshot Inc. announced today that an ongoing battle between the Jail’s owner, Bridgepoint Health (Hospital) and the Ontario Realty Corporation, a leaseholder, have prevented the activities from taking place.
Slingshot, who signed a contract with Bridgepoint to manage the activities at the Jail, is understandably devastated. The company’s marketing campaign created tremendous buzz within the event community and among the thousands of history buffs who wanted to see inside the historic facility. “Everything had fallen into place. We were inundated with requests by planners wanting to produce events in the building.” We were also overjoyed with the number of people who wanted to take one of the guided tours we developed” stated Slingshot partner Chris MacKechnie.
This hard work appears to have been the project’s undoing. Just two days after the company’s PR campaign earned space in virtually every media vehicle in the city, the project was halted when employees at the Ontario Realty Corporation saw the coverage.
The Ontario Realty Corporation, a tenant of the building, refused to allow the contract to proceed.
Slingshot was invited to attend a meeting with Bridgepoint, the ORC, and a number of other government departments to discuss moving forward. At that time, Nick Munaretto of the ORC stated to the group that the ORC had never been advised of the activities that Slingshot had been contracted to produce at the Jail.
Nobody from Bridgepoint challenged the statement making Slingshot believe that the ORC was kept in the dark of the plans, causing a rift between the two parties with Slingshot caught in the middle. There was no workable way to proceed.
“Because we had a solid contract with the Hospital, we thought our plans were approved. We had no idea that there was another party who could pull the plug. It appears that Bridgepoint did not have the authority to sign the contract they wrote. And the ORC seemed determined to prevent any activities from taking place in the building” stated MacKechnie.
“We are a small business, so the damage this has caused to our company, both to our finances as well as to our reputation is devastating.” Because its efforts have been focused on the Jail project for months, the company now finds itself without any other projects booked until well into October.
“We feel badly for the people who pre purchased tour tickets, we feel badly for the events we have had to cancel on the organizers, and we feel badly for our staff that we have had to let go unexpectedly just as everything was starting to pay off. Most importantly, we feel horrible that Torontonians and tourists will never have the opportunity to witness this important piece of history and architecture, and to hear, see, and feel its stories. It is a real loss. Why the people making the decisions could not see that, I will never understand.”
The 145-year-old Jail is an architectural wonder that few people have ever seen. Its gothic architecture featured an awe-inspiring rotunda with walkways encircling it being supported by wrought-iron dragons and snakes.
When it was closed in 1977, the building was padlocked and has remained vacant ever since. The summer opening would have been the first and only time the public could have seen this building before it is gutted and turned into the offices of a new hospital being erected by Bridgepoint.
