Recycling is a good thing, especially when you can make something old new again. But I never thought about taking something negative, like a jail, and turning it into something positive.

Such is the case for old Charles Street Jail in Boston. It has just undergone a five year, $150 Million revamp, and become the Liberty Hotel. The high-end hotel is banking that it’s history will be a big draw, which it will have to be if you want to stay there. A one night stay is reported to cost as least $319 dollars, and if you want the luxurious Presidential Suite, then expect to pay over $5000 for the pleasure.

Architects went all out on keeping as much of the 150 year old building in tact as they could. One restaurant, Clink, has windows with original bars which diners can look out of, and the hotel bar, Alibi, is located in the original drunk tank. Hmmm….the irony. Built out of granite, the jail was designed in the shape of a cross. The 90 foot tall central corridor is pictured above and once was used by guards who walked the catwalks, keeping prisoners in check. Like any building, it fell into despair and was finally closed.

The new Liberty Hotel has a new tower which houses most of the rooms, but 18 of them are in original cells. I bet those will be requested the most. People just love to experience the abnormal!