Its first warden, William Stratton Prince, was an alcoholic ex-military officer who resigned as chief of the Toronto Police to take the position.

During his tenure he was accused of ordering extreme beatings, denying medical treatment, and supporting clandestine, nighttime burials.

The Toronto Historical Association sums up the facility's reputation: "Central Prison represents one of the most shameful parts of the city's history, and its severe conditions and brutality are shocking".

[3] In 1915, the prison was abandoned as changing attitudes toward crime and punishment led to a revamping of the province’s correctional system and replaced by the Ontario Reformatory in Guelph.

Remaining buildings ended up being used by Hobb's, Dr. Ballard's, and finally by the neighbouring John Inglis and Company Limited factory until 1981.