This post courtesy of guest blogger K. Whitaker, travel enthusiast, marketer and business woman extraordinaire.
Looking for something different than the usual suspects clustered around the exit ramp? How about sleeping in a former prison cell? Sure, it sounds eerie. But you have to admit, it’s intriguing . . . and educational. Believe it or not, there is quite a lineup of former prisons and jails turned hotels or bed and breakfasts.
Think about it: What do prisons and hotels have in common? Each typically houses a variety of guests in quasi-identical rooms and has a large staff to run the place. The main difference is that one houses guests that choose to be there. The the other handles visitors who, well . . . don’t.
Therefore, a former prison is an ideal structure to remodel into a hotel. And also a creative way to turn a run-down piece of property into something chic and cozy. The folks at Carpenter & Company Inc. have done just that with the former Suffolk County Jail in Boston, MA, built from 1848-1851.
Opened to the public in September 2007, The Liberty Hotel combines luxury and history in 298 guest rooms, three restaurants and one stunningly landscaped courtyard. Listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, the hotel is located in the Beacon Hill borough, which puts it smack dab in the heart of Boston.
Two of the three restaurants sit in the vestiges of old jail cells, which have been turned into private nooks for romantic dinners. The courtyard was the old exercise yard for the prisoners, and the prison guards’ catwalks overlook the lobby with its impressive 90-foot tall central atrium, complete with a cupola at the top.
Eighteen of the 298 guest rooms are in the original building, complete with original details of exposed brick and bars. The rest of the rooms are located in the new tower adjoined to the former jail. The new Liberty Hotel is a far-stretch from the cold and damp jail it once was. (View Flickr set of images)
Gridley James Fox Bryant designed the Charles Street original building with the help of Rev. Louis Dwight, who advocated for prison reform. Bryant was widely considered the most accomplished architect of his time and his design became reality with the completion of jail in 1851.
Some famous prisoners include James Michael Curley, former governor of Massachusetts, Malcolm X, Sacco and Vanzetti and suffragists imprisoned for protesting while President Woodrow Wilson was in town.
The jail functioned like any other until 1973 when the prisoners revolted because of poor living conditions. Although the U.S. District Court quickly declared it unfit, it took until 1990 to move all the prisoners to the new Suffolk County Jail on Nashua Street.
In 1991, the Massachusetts General Hospital took ownership of the former penitentiary, eventually leasing it to Carpenter & Company in 2001. Together with a team of designers, architects, historians and conservationists, top executives decided to transform it into a luxury hotel. Their main goal was to ensure balance between preservation and dynamic use.
Boston not in your jurisdiction? No worries. Here are some other former incarceration options in the U.S. and abroad.
The Old Jail and Jailhouse Inn are two options located in the Midwest, in Minnesota to be exact. The Old Jail is located in Taylor Falls and was the first registered bed and breakfast in Minnesota in 1981. The sleeping quarters are in two different buildings. One is a former saloon, and the other is a former “drunk-tank.” Coincidence?
The Jailhouse Inn is located in Preston, MN, in the old Filmore County Jail. You can stay in the old sheriff’s living quarters and offices in this National Historic Site, which opened as a bed and breakfast in 1989.
A variety of other destinations are located across the pond and beyond. If you ever find yourself in Australia, hop over to the Jail of Mount Gambier, five hours west of Melbourne. If you happen to be visiting your chums at Oxford University, stay in the posh boutique hotel/former jail Malmaison Oxford, built in 1071.
Helsinki, Finland is home to Hotel Katajanokka, the past Helsinki county jail and Lucerne, Switzerland has Jailhouse Löwengraben, the first jailhouse in all of Switzerland turned neat-place-to-stay.
Others include the Four Seasons hotel in Istanbul, Turkey, Langholmen Hotel on a remote Swedish island, and the old Courthouse Hotel Kempinski in London, where pop stars like John Lennon and Mick Jagger spent time on drug charges.
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