37.5 cm of textual records + 125 photographs + 1 videocassette
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a selection of Oakalla correctional facility records including reports, correspondence, photographs and a video tour of the death row incarceration cells inside Oakalla Prison taken by Burnaby Village Museum curator after the facility was closed. Most of the photographs docum…
37.5 cm of textual records + 125 photographs + 1 videocassette
Scope and Content
Collection consists of a selection of Oakalla correctional facility records including reports, correspondence, photographs and a video tour of the death row incarceration cells inside Oakalla Prison taken by Burnaby Village Museum curator after the facility was closed. Most of the photographs document Oakalla Prison in 1991 and were taken during the Open House event or when Burnaby Village Museum staff were granted access to retreive items prior to demolition. A small selection of facility photographs of site and staff are also included.
Records are arranged into series:
1) Oakalla correctional facility records series
2) Oakalla correctional facility photographs series
3) Oakalla documentary photographs and video series
History
The Oakalla Prison Farm (also known as the Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre) was a model prison farm on 185 acres of land next to Deer Lake in Burnaby. The Oakalla Prison Farm opened in 1912 and was initially designed to hold 150 men and 50 women. By the 1950s, the population was well over one thousand. The prison included a working farm which included a dairy, vegetable gardens and livestock. In 1959 the last execution in British Columbia took place at Oakalla. Following a riot and mass escape in the late 1980s, poor conditions, and public outcry, Oakalla closed down in 1991. In the fall of 1991, the prison was opened up to the public whereby tours were conducted of the site. Not long after, buildings were demolished and a residential housing development took it's place. A playground now sits on the former site of the main building.
In 1991, staff from Burnaby Village Museum were granted access, documenting the site prior to it's demolition. Many Oakalla artifacts and records were salvaged and accessioned into the Burnaby Village Museum's permanent collection.
Arrangement of records and series of this collection is based on record creators and subject that. Facility records and photographs were created and collected by Oakalla correctional facility staff and documentary photographs and a video from 1991 were created by Burnaby Village Museum staff.
Notes
Title based on content of collection
Some records within this collection are closed. Contact Burnaby Village Museum for access.
Photograph of barn at Oakalla Prison Farm (Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre). Photograph is taken looking north towards Deer Lake and Burnaby Mountain and was taken during Oakalla Prison Open House event.
Photograph of barn at Oakalla Prison Farm (Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre). Photograph is taken looking north towards Deer Lake and Burnaby Mountain and was taken during Oakalla Prison Open House event.
Photograph of old blacksmith shop building at Oakalla Prison Farm (Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre). Acccording to photographer, this building was later used as a "Doukhobor hut". Photograph was taken during Oakalla Prison Open House event.
Photograph of old blacksmith shop building at Oakalla Prison Farm (Lower Mainland Regional Correctional Centre). Acccording to photographer, this building was later used as a "Doukhobor hut". Photograph was taken during Oakalla Prison Open House event.
File consists of acetate sheets and handwritten notes used in the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Included in the file are pamphlets for the presentation.
File consists of acetate sheets and handwritten notes used in the oral report "Oakalla Prison Farm \ A Short History" presented by Ed Eckley to the Burnaby Historical Society on January 14, 1998. Included in the file are pamphlets for the presentation.
Photograph of the exterior of the main jail building, southwest side, Oakalla Prison Farm. A sign next to the road reads, "Main Office" with an arrow pointing to the left.
Photograph of the exterior of the main jail building, southwest side, Oakalla Prison Farm. A sign next to the road reads, "Main Office" with an arrow pointing to the left.