Boston's Liberty Hotel Combines Preservation & Adaptive Reuse to Create a Unique Boutique Hotel

The Liberty Hotel. Boston, Massachusetts.

Opening in 2007, Boston's Liberty Hotel displays both meticulous preservation of its structure's original design and playful references to its previous use as a jail. The building, listed on both the State and National Registers of the Historic Places, is one of the best examples of 19th century "Boston Granite Style" architecture or Quincy granite. At the base of Beacon Hill, and overlooking the Charles River, the building housed the Charles Street Jail from 1851-1990. Its original construction was a collaboration between architect, Gridley James Fox Bryant, and penologist, Rev. Louis Dwight. Bryant was one of Boston's most accomplished architects at the time while Rev. Louis was a prominent Yale-educated advocate for prison reform. Historians have noted that the building "resonated with a strength and dignity appropriate for the era and for Bostonian's sensibilities". Much of the driving force behind the design was to maximize natural light and ventilation. The building's floor plan is in the shape of a cross. The defining feature is its central, octagonal rotunda which creates a 90 foot tall atrium. Radiating out from the rotunda are four wings. Much of the building's character is shown through Romanesque and Renaissance details. There are 4 circular, wood "ocular" windows, and 30 3-story arched windows highlighted by articulated wedge-shaped, stone "voussoirs" characteristic of French design. Bryant's original design included a dramatic cupola, intended to bring further light and air into the rotund. This focal point was reduced in size to save money and was removed altogether in 1949. The building housed 220 prison cells, 8' x 10' each. In 1973, after 120 years of housing some of Boston's most notorious criminals, the US District Court found the building unfit and in violation of inmates constitutional rights. Still, it continued to house prisoners until 1990. In 1991 the building was acquired by its neighbor, Massachusetts General Hospital who sought proposals for reuse, requiring significant original elements be preserved. They entered a lease agreement with developer, Richard Friedman of Carpenter and Company. The building's transformation was a collaboration between Carpenter and Company, project architects Cambridge Seven Associates and consulting historic preservation architect, Pamela Hawkes FAIA, Ann Beha Architects. The design team worked closely with historians and conservationists. One highlight of the $150 million transformation was the reconstruction of the rotunda's cupola, rebuilt to Bryant's original design. The rotunda serves as the central core of the hotel and its lobby. The building's exterior and light-filled interiors remain largely unchanged. The hotel houses 298 guest rooms, 5 restaurants/bars, and 6,000 ft^2 of meeting/event space in the original building and in an adjoining 16 story addition. The building retains its historic windows, catwalks, exposed brick, and wrought iron details. Original jail cells have been preserved and are located in the hotel bar. Gary Johnson, AIA, Cambridge Seven Associates, stated, "Despite and overall modernization, many remnants of the landmark's jail have been maintained to safeguard its authenticity." Throughout the hotel there are playful nods to its penal past while offering hotel guests all they would expect from a modern boutique hotel.