Charles Street Jail housed notorious criminals and political prisoners, including the anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti (remember the pencils from the factory named after them?). In 1973, the inmates revolted, deciding that the prison's overcrowding violated their constitutional rights. Today, they would hardly recognize their former refuge with the telling name Liberty, which has become a four-star hotel with 300 rooms.

Built in 1851, the Charles Street Jail was the result of collaboration between architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, considered the most outstanding architect in Boston at the time, and Reverend Louis Dwight, a prominent penologist educated at Yale University, whose travels shaped his interest in prison reform and its advocacy. According to historians, the building, regarded as one of the best examples of the mid-19th century “Boston granite style,” “radiated strength and dignity, fitting the era and the sentiments of Bostonians.” In 1973, after 120 years of housing some of Boston’s most notorious criminals, the inmates revolted due to poor living conditions, and the prison was declared unfit and in violation of inmates’ constitutional rights.

On the Memorial Day weekend in 1990, the last prisoners were transferred to the new Suffolk County Jail. In 1991, Massachusetts General Hospital acquired the outdated property and requested proposals for its reuse, requiring the preservation of significant elements of the building.

In 2001, Carpenter & Company was appointed as the project developer and signed a lease agreement with MGH for the land and the prison itself. Bryant originally designed an impressive dome intended to bring more light and air into the rotunda. Unfortunately, this was the central feature that was reduced in size during construction to save money. In 1949, it was completely dismantled. As part of one of many restoration efforts, the dome was carefully reconstructed based on Bryant’s original design.

The transformation of the site into a hotel is the work of a team of designers and architects collaborating with historians and conservationists from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Boston Landmarks Commission, the National Park Service, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to ensure that the final result strikes a careful balance between preservation and dynamic new use.

Drawn by the building’s impressive spatial qualities, the team used Bryant’s original architectural drawings to ensure alignment with his creative vision of the cruciform-shaped building. Largely thanks to the powerful forms of Romanesque and Renaissance styles used in its design, the building consists of an octagonal central structure with four round wooden “porthole” windows and four radiating wings, each with large three-story arched windows highlighted by wedge-shaped stone voussoirs characteristic of French design. At the time, it was believed that the windows allowed “four times as much light as any prison ever built.”

Besides this addition, the granite prison facade and spacious, light-filled interiors remain virtually unchanged. The 90-foot-high central atrium of the prison is beautifully preserved and forms the core of the hotel. It features the building’s signature windows and historic podiums. Preserved prison cells in the hotel’s restaurant and wrought iron on the windows are just two examples of the preservation efforts. The former prison exercise yard has now been transformed into a private, beautifully landscaped courtyard destined to become one of the beloved “hidden gardens” of the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

The interior design team was tasked with giving the hotel a distinctive personality that pays tribute to the building’s rich history while imparting a modern flair. To this end, in a contemporary counterpoint to the building’s exterior, the stylish hotel reception desk is made of ebonized wood with stenciled lacquered patterns reminiscent of 1850s embroidery; carpets evoke old-fashioned New England crafts, enlarged and modernized; and American colonial prints in historic colors such as burgundy, gray, and purple create a refreshed traditional look. Finally, exposed brick walls and a striking wrought iron chandelier add visual interest to the lobby, emphasizing a commitment to historic and restrained materials.

Sources:

https://libertyhotel.com/hotel/history/