Attending an event in Boston recently was exceptionally interesting because it was held in The Liberty Hotel, 215 Charles Street – the original site of the Charles Street Jail!
The hotel design retained much of the historic structure, including the famed rotunda. For me, the rotunda, making up the hotel lobby, is the most fascinating part of the current structure.
The hotel did a fabulous job of staying on theme with the original use of the site, including names like ‘Alibi’ for a bar and ‘Clink’ for a private dining area.
The Charles Street Jail, designed by architect Gridley James Fox Bryant and prison reformer Rev. Louis Dwight, was considered a model prison when it opened in 1851. The building’s high windows and wealth of natural light were part of the reason, and the original 33 foot-high windows in the hotel’s lobby are breathtakingly unique. The building is listed on both the state and national Registers of Historic Places.
In the 1970’s, the facility had become overcrowded and was declared unfit for occupation. The jail finally closed in 1991, and the adjacent Massachusetts General Hospital later acquired the property. It was redesigned and reopened in the summer of 2007 as a 300-room luxury hotel.
The hotel is also the site of the restaurant Scampo. If you follow all the food and cooking shows, like I do, you probably have heard of its famed, James Beard Award-winning chef, Lydia Shire. With Italian-inspired cuisine and a mozzarella bar, this restaurant has received many accolades, including the best Italian restaurant in Boston, as well as one of the best restaurants in the country.
I hope I have inspired you to make a visit to The Liberty Hotel on your next visit to Boston!
Thanks for stopping by! Remember to take pleasure in simple things, Jackie