In May of 2010, on a beautiful late spring day, the groundbreaking and ribbon cutting ceremony took place for the renovated Salem Jail complex, including the Jail (1811-1813 and 1884-1885), Jail Keeper’s House (c. 1813), and Carriage House (1813, reconstructed). The successful transformation of one of Salem’s most significant public buildings to a new use demonstrates the importance of preserving and adapting Salem’s rich architectural heritage to the 21st century.
After remaining vacant for nearly 20 years, the buildings have been adaptively reused and exteriors restored. The developers, New Boston Ventures, created 19 residential units, a restaurant space, and an exhibit illustrating the history of the complex in the jail building itself. Three residential units were created in the jailkeeper’s house and a single unit in the recreated carriage house.
Historic Salem worked closely with the development team, the Salem Redevelopment Authority, the Salem Historical Commission, and the Massachusetts Historical Commission in a collaborative effort to preserve these significant historic buildings.
Historic Salem’s efforts to save the Jail and Jail Keeper’s House began nearly two decades ago when the Jail was vacated by the County in 1991. Historic Salem’s participation after the 1999 fire in the Jail Keeper’s house and throughout the study and development process (described below) are widely credited as being instrumental to this successful development.
The Jail complex was listed on both Historic Salem’s and PreservationMass’ Most Endangered Lists in 2000 and was officially moved to Historic Salem’s SAVED category in 2010.
Many thanks and congratulations go to the individuals and organizations that worked to bring this project to fruition.
Read the full report.