The Millbrook Correctional Centre first opened in 1957 and for decades, was Ontario's only maximum security facility. It housed provincially sentenced male inmates (a deuce less a day) that were found to be too difficult in other jails. As part of the Ontario governments Infrastructure Renewal Program, the prison was closed in 2003 and the inmate population was transferred to the new super jail in Lindsay. Several other provincial jails were also closed as part of this program, including the Rideau Correctional & Treatment Centre. The Millbrook prison on the hill sat vacant for years before being accessed and documented by hundreds of urban explorers and vandalized by local youth in 2009, at which time it was promptly resealed. Welded so tight, and with so many layers, that it seemed impossible that I would ever get to see it for myself.
Every couple of weeks though, we would return for a nice Sunday morning walk around the prison. We wanted it so bad. We checked everything, but nothing ever changed, it was all welded shut. The irony was never lost on us here either. Continually returning to this old prison, just dying to get inside.
Earlier this year, a gentleman that accessed the prison with his proficient mountain climbing skills shared images that told a tale of Police Emergency Response Training with military grade equipment and explosives within the prison walls, which only excited me more. A few weeks later, on one of our perimeter walks, the garage door was open and loud bangs were coming from inside, intrigued and on edge, I only made it a few steps in before common sense led to flight winning over fight.
Of course a quick discussion with said gentleman revealed that the Police ERT exercises took place a while back, then i remembered the dumpster. It was a demo crew cleaning up after the police training, we concluded. I could have bribed them, i thought. I would have payed Leafs ticket prices to get inside for a couple of hours. Nevertheless, just as we had done at the Insane Asylum, we continued to return every few weeks, hoping for a better result, expecting more of the same.
So there i was last week, laying in a hospital bed for the second time this year, when a newspaper article caught my eye on my iphone. (My chronic ear infections have have taken a drastic turn this year due to the ridiculous amount of dangerous moulds that I have exposed myself to for extended periods of time.) The article spoke of a man and woman from Whitby in their late thirties arrested by Police ERT and K9 Units breaking in to the old prison. I sat up so quickly that i got dizzy from the morphine. I made a few phone calls and pestered my doctor about a time frame for my hospitalization and recovery. Outlook not so good. It wasn't until the end of the week that i would be able to do a recon mission, and then I'd have to rush back to the hospital, and wait.
So there I was, in that same hospital bed again, knowing that i had a shot. Biding my time until morning. And as soon as i was released i poured a splash of ear drops into my ear, threw back a couple of prescribed morphine pills, and in the company of a good friend, finally explored the long awaited Millbrook Correctional Centre.
time is arbitrary
the downward spiral
breach of recon
a deuce less a day
remanded into custody
N block
time for reflection
time to forget
S block
time to fall apart
time to grow old and mouldy
cell extraction
shitter and shower
the inside outside world
the hole
N & S block bullpen
N & S block yard
serving time
recidivism
police brutality
two sides to every story
guard tower
irony
through the glass, we visit.
NOTICE
T-WING CONTROL
shattered dreams
slop
clean up your act
sewn together
gen pop
inmate number
time to waste
#SCRIBLES
ex-cons
cellular level
the sins of the father
life behind bars
like animals in zoos
please sign this form sir
without you
time warp
time to sleep with one eye open
time to feel remorse, or not.
the yard
time for a sentence
time to decay
time to burn for your sins
breach of probation
segregation
isolation
the art of doing time
another breach in the wall
Please have a seat, the physician will be with you shortly
prison dentist
prison doctor
cell mates
cell phone priveleges
shrapnel
escape route
the tower
a taste of freedom
Thanks for spending the time to follow me through the old prison on the hill, i hope you enjoyed our time together. i'm off to the next spot, maybe i'll see you there.
*********UPDATE*********
January 27 & February 2, 2013
The Southeast Guard Tower
We continue to enjoy perimeter walks and hope for new opportunities.
Rumour has it that the end is near and a demolition notice is not far off, after environmental assessments are made public in the near future.
click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES
12 comments:
Glad to see MCC's open for business again! I managed it just before the filth sealed it up in '09; looks like the place has changed a little since I was there. There appear to be more holes in the walls haha. Police breaching practice?
Looks like "time warp" was the result of a shaped charge breach attempt, anyone caught on the otherside would be pretty much dead/gravely injured from the blast pressure
It's too bad this sort of exploration will have minimum jail time attached to it soon.
"time to waste" sure seems profound
Good that you finally got in Jerm! Congrats on breaching it finally :)
Cheers all, this one was special.
Absolutely superb post. I always love your particular method of tying your personal life into the mission, and how well you articulate the background and history of the site. Your photography is gaining its own style, and the captions speak volumes. I lol'd at "cell phone" ;)
wow it just so happens i did alot of timein that place and my boy was killed in there unfourtuanately up on 6 wing but on a brighter side im happy to see that place shut down alot of asbestos in it...but thanks for the pics jerm loved it it was definatly a time warp trip for me hahaha duffy out
Just interested
My father was a guard there in 1960 or so, before guards had guns. Interesting to see where he worked. He was also a guard at the Guelph prison in 1969/70.
I did my first bit in the Brook in 2000 and I was one of the last prisoners to be transfered. This place has alot of bad blood in it and alot of ghosts call it home. A bad place.
I was a prisoner in Millbrook from October 1968 to August 1970. I lived on 4 wing cell 12 East, 3 wing cell 1 east. When I was there the hole at the back of 5 wing had no toilets, just a hole im the floor.
The cells are big enough for a single bed: Instead of tearing it down, renovate the prison into a gated low income retirement community.
Mike
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