Boston: The Liberty, Rocking a Jailhouse

March 2, 2010

By Becca Hensley

When we run into Hollywood action hero Bruce Willis in the lobby of Boston’s Liberty Hotel, we don’t bat an eyelash. Somehow, this muscular macho guy sailing through the airy lobby looks like he belongs here — and not just because he’s rich and famous.

Rather, it has more to do with the fact that this wholly contemporary, Beacon Hill hotel lies in the vestiges of an historic prison. And all around remnants of its former penal glory reign, in spite of — or perhaps because of — a $150 million restoration that took nearly a decade to complete. Just the place to spot a crime fighter.

This registered historic building, built in 1859, was ahead of its time even before creative present day hoteliers transformed it. Because it was designed by renowned architect Gridley James Fox Bryant, in collaboration with Louis Dwight, a penal reformer, the prison incorporated less institutional attributes than were common in the era. In fact, the structure’s large windows that bring effusive light, its airiness, and larger than average cells, set a worldwide standard that lasts today. Incarcerated here were notorious evildoers ranging in impiety from the Boston Strangler to a gaggle of protesting suffragettes, from Malcolm X to Frank Abagnale, Jr. (the famous con man). Their legacy, combined with the buildings sublime bones, and ideal location (with Back Bay) views has ensured its reincarnation to the hip hotel it has become today.

Historical gravitas aside, this decidedly elegant hotel doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s an engaging marriage of the past and the present — both conceptually and architecturally. Still imposing from the outside, the hotel’s grey granite exterior augers something magical. Guests enter at ground level and reach the spacious lobby via an escalator that suggests an amusement park ride as it transports them past a large tile mosaic depicting famous crooks and scenes from history.

A soaring rotunda illuminates the prison/hotel interiors which are defined by huge windows — some ocular and covered with bars — exposed ancient brick and no-nonsense wrought iron chandeliers. Throughout, historical images adorn the walls. In the lobby, guests sit sipping champagne, predominately wearing the prison uniform of our time — business suits. Above, three levels of balconies, once the Charles Street Jail’s catwalks, overlook the grand room. Clink, the hotel’s restaurant, sits amid some of the original 8x 10 foot jail cells and features waiters dressed in uniforms, marked with mock prison numbers. To the tables they bring a diverse menu of tapa style food.

photos courtesy of The Liberty Hotel

Nearby the prison’s drunk tank has metamorphosed to Alibi, a happening bar that flows to the outside, while another section of the prison building holds Scampo, the restaurant home of James Beard winner Lydia Shire’s modern Italian fare. Other reminders of the good old days amuse. Guest room mini bars are marked as contraband (that’s right, kids!) and the “do not disturb” sign wards people away with “Solitary.”

The Liberty, with its perfect evocation of a sense of place, provides a more profound and amusing experience than the average hotel. Some travelers insist all they really want is a pillow upon which to lay their head — but a stay here might free them from that particular chain.

One good book: AIA Guide to Boston, 3rd: Contemporary Landmarks, Urban Design, Parks, Historic Buildings and Neighborhoods

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