Two nights in Jail

While in Ottawa we took the opportunity to spend a couple of nights in jail.... really!  The Ottawa Jail Hostel to be exact.

The "Carleton County Gaol" opened in 1862 as Ottawa's first jail.  It housed minimum, medium, and maximum security prisoners and a hospital.  For a time it also had female prisoners and their children.  The jail was closed in 1972 because of its inhumane conditions.  The building was turned into a Hostel in 1973 and offers overnight accommodations at a very reasonable rate.

Our room was on the 9th floor.  The 8th floor housed Death Row.  Only three prisoners were hanged at the gallows.  For a time, the hostel offered people free accommodations on the 8th floor..... but very few people could make it through the entire night!  Now the 8th floor is used for tours only.

Hostels offer kitchen services and we enjoyed working together to prepare our meals.  Max and Simon were especially helpful!  We would highly recommend this unique experience.  It is just two blocks from the Parliament Building at a fraction of the cost of a hotel in the area.