Suffolk County Jail - Boston, MA
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NorStar
N 42° 21.698 W 071° 04.224
19T E 329505 N 4692005
The former Suffolk County Jail (also known as the Charles Street Jail), was a state-of-the-art facility when it was built in 1851, incorporating more humane ways of keeping inmates compared to previous facilities.
Waymark Code: WM6BCY
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 05/07/2009
Views: 3
The former Suffolk County Jail, or Charles Street Jail, is a grey granite facility in the West End sector of Boston, flanked by taller buildings that are part of nearby hospitals. Presently, it is the main portion of the Liberty Hotel, which opened in the summer of 2007. From 1851, when it was built, to 1990, it was a prison for Suffolk County, which includes Boston, Chelsea, Winthrop and Revere.
It was designed by Gridley J. F. Bryant, who designed other buildings in Boston. Helping him was Rev. Louis Dwight, who applied the ideas laid out in the "Auburn Plan," a humanitarian scheme. The building included windows in the main portion of the building and in cells to provide natural light, and allowed the flow of fresh breezes through the complex. The building is in the shape of a cross, with an octagonal structure in the center.
Many known figures were housed here. A few of the more famous ones were Boston Mayor James Michael Curley, Malcolm X, and Saco and Vanzetti.
Over time, the building became too crowded. In 1973 a U.S. Court determined that overcrowding there violated the inmates constitutional rights. The facility was eventually replaced by the Nashua Street Jail and closed in 1990. There it lay dormant for over a decade until the building was remade into the Liberty Hotel, which opened in the summer of 2007.
The building added to the list in 1980.
If you enter the hotel and go up the stairs to the lobby, you will be in the octagonal center. The entire space is open, so you can see the inner structure. There are corridors to lead to wings of the building. One wing has a a hallway that still has some of the prison doors and windows. There is a historical corner that describes the significance of the building and the restoration efforts.
When you are finished at the historical corner, go to "The Clink" - which is not a prison cell, its the local restaurant/bar.
The web site included is for the Liberty Hotel, the current occupants of the building.
Sources:
Wikipedia entries -
Charles Street Jail:
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visit link)
Gridley J. F. Bryant:
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visit link)