Abandoned Urbex Canada

The Whitney Block Tower is located in downtown Toronto, Canada. This is a secret abandoned building that not too many people know about. The tower has been empty since the 1960's. The building was named in honour of former Premier James P. Whitney. It was designed by architect Francis Heakes who died in September 1930 before the building was completed. The Whitney Block Tower was built in 1932 it has 16 storeys and contains one of the few operational hand cranked elevators remaining in Toronto. Only a handful of people have seen inside this building after it was abandoned so finding interior photos was extremely hard. Thanks to The City of Toronto Archives I found only a few. At the top there are 4 female guardian eight foot tall sculptures made by Charles Adamson representing Justice, Tolerance, Widsom and Power. At the mid height there are eight male figures representing occupations: a labourer and a miner on the north, a judge and a professor on the east, , a farmer and a lumberjack on the west, and a businessman and a doctor, plus a small boy looking up at the doctor, on the south. There was once a bowling alley in the basement and stories of an underground tunnel leading to the Ontario Parliament building across the street. The provincial veterinary services was located on the sixth floor. There are animal pens left over from when provincial veterinary services were housed there. They brought up cows to the lab in an service elevator. There are also reports of the tunnel and tower being haunted. There is no ventilation system in the tower so the only way to get fresh air into the building is by opening the windows. In the summer months the building would get extremely hot and its rumoured they even brought huge amounts of ice to the top of the building in an effort to cool down the interior of the building using the downwards airflow. The lower level of the building is used by government workers but the tower is completely empty. The tower only has 1 set of stairs and a hand cranked elevator. The building does not meet the current fire and safety codes so it has been unused since the 1960's. There were talks to install a new set of emergency stairs and an elevator on the outside of the building but the plans failed. The tower is still being maintained and they have repaired and upgraded the exterior over the years but the interior is dusty, dark and empty.

This is the story of The Smallest Jail in North America. Also known as The Creemore Jail, Little Lock Up, the jail was built in 1892 and closed in 1940. It served as a secure place for lawbreakers. For offences like drunkenness, disturbing the peace, thief and robbery, inmates were kept over night. Those charged with more serious crimes were held here until the next train transported them to the County Sheriff. After Creemore incorporated as a Village in 1889, Constable Douglass Turner soon needed a lock-up. In 1882 this site by the Grand Truck Railway was purchased for $50.00 and James Clow built the building for $425.20. If the built the building in brick it would have cost $24.00 more. The jail not only jailed criminals, it occasionally provided social service. From the earliest years and especially in the 1930's depression "tramps" here found short term shelter and were fed at the towns expense. In the 1940's, changing policing practices closed the jail. It reopened in the 60's as a tourist attraction. Although other places say they have the smallest jail in North America the Creemore Jail is conformed they have the smallest jail. It is completely FREE to explore the Creemore Jail but donations are welcome. There is also a 1870's log cabin next door to the jail if you wish to explore it also. Building exteriors can be viewed anytime but if you wish to see inside please check with the Creemore Library on the same property for the hours. 165 Library St. Creemore, Ontario, Canada. The jail and log cabin have been both closed for the past 2 years during Covid-19. I would like say thank you to Chris for giving me a guided tour of the smallest jail in North America.

This historic covered bridge was the filming location for the blockbuster movie "It" and "It Chapter Two. The film set a number of box office records and grossed over $701 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest grossing R rated film of all time. " It Chapter Two" was also a success grossing $473 million. Some the of scenes film here included the Bowers Gang vs Ben, the end scene when the group of friends called the losers made an blood oath by the riverside. (Richie, Beverly, Bill, Ben, Eddie and Stanley). "It Chapter Two" was also film here where Richie (Bill Hader) carved the initials into the bridges railings. The covered bridge was built in 1881 by John Bear and his brother. It was originally made of all wood. They used mostly oak and pine and later added concrete, steel and asphalt. The cost to build the bridge was $3,197.00 at the time. At today's cost it would be over $86,000. The bridge is approx. 205 feet long by 17 feet wide. The bridge crosses the Grand River. This is the only covered bridge in Ontario and one of the oldest covered bridges in all of Canada. This bridge is also known as the "Kissing Bridge" Back in the day when the men would ride their horse and buggy into the dark bridge the men would sneak a kiss with their loved one.

Since there were no refrigerated morgues at this time, they used to keep the human remains inside here during the winter months until the ground thawed in the spring. They also stored a few caskets inside. Today we are exploring a 1868 Cemetery Dead House. This is one of 5 known octagon shaped cemetery vaults in Ontario, Canada. This building is not quit abandoned but used as storage. This Dead House is currently a historic building. This means it will be maintained and preserved for years to come. The Dead House is located within the gates of the Aurora Cemetery in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. It was built in 1868 by a local builder named Henry Harris for Charles Doan the president of the Aurora Cemetery Company. These structures go by many names: Dead House, Receiving Tombs, Mort House and a Cemetery Vault. This Dead House building is shaped as a octagon and is pretty rare now a days.