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Founded in 1944, Historic Salem Inc. is dedicated to
the preservation of historic homes and sites.

Salem Jail Complex

Salem Jail Complex, 50 St. Peter Street (Listed 2000)

Summary

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.

History and Significance

The original portion of the granite jail and the Federal period Jailer’s House were constructed in 1811-1813. The jail was remodeled and substantially enlarged to the west in 1884-1885. The addition closely duplicates the appearance of the original building, with the exception of the octagonal cupolas. In his book, Architecture in Salem, Bryant Tolles, Jr. states that the Salem Jail was one of the oldest correctional facilities in the country still fulfilling its original function until it was vacated in 1991, and that it “has considerable architectural significance".

The three-story Jail Keeper’s house was built in 1813 and displays the typical Federal period characteristics common in brick residences of this period in Salem. According to Tolles, it is possible that the house was built by Samuel Field McIntire, son of Samuel McIntire, but no conclusive evidence has been found. The carriage house is of unknown date, but likely contemporaneous with the original Jail and Jail Keeper’s House. As part of the current redevelopment, most of the carriage house was replicated, rather than restored, due to its poor condition.

History of Threat and Preservation Efforts

The Salem Jail was closed in 1991 and sat deteriorating with no plans for it from either the County or the State. In response, Historic Salem successfully campaigned to have the complex transferred to the City of Salem. When the Jail Keeper’s House was severely damaged by fire in 1999, Historic Salem helped apply for grant funds from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and provided pro bono architectural and engineering services to replace the roof and stabilize the building.

In 2000, after the jail had been abandoned for nearly 10 years, Historic Salem placed the complex on its Most Endangered Resources list, and successfully nominated the jail complex to the Most Endangered List of PreservationMass, drawing statewide attention to this important resource.

In 2004, Historic Salem identified the preservation of the complex as its top preservation priority. In spring 2004 the City of Salem proposed that the property be transferred from the City to the Salem Redevelopment Authority (SRA) which had more appropriate power for handling the redevelopment of a site as complex as the Jail. Historic Salem worked through the summer of 2004 with the Planning Department, the City Council, and the SRA on the conditions to the transfer and the redevelopment plan to ensure that preservation priorities were taken into account in any redevelopment plan and that there would be public participation in the redevelopment process. The agreement between the City and the SRA required that input be allowed from interested citizens, including the City Council, Historic Salem, and the Salem Historical Commission and that the treatment of the “buildings and site elements" would be “in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties”.

At the end of 2004, the City engaged a consultant team to undertake a Market/Feasibility study for the Jail complex. Public comment through the course of the study supported the preservation of the properties as greatly significant to the community and identified the desire for a degree of active public use. The study was completed in the spring of 2005, and guided the SRA in preparing Requests for Proposals from development teams.

Responses from development teams to the Requests for Proposals were received in September 2005. After conducting interviews with four finalists in October 2005 the SRA chose the development team assembled by New Boston Ventures, a Boston based developer that specializes in historic buildings. Architects for the project were the Boston firm of Finegold Alexander + Associates, Inc.

New Boston Ventures proposed to locate seventeen residential condominiums in the Jail building itself, renovate the Jail Keeper’s house into three condominium units, renovate the carriage house for artist live-work space, and construct a new building with condominiums on the southernmost part of the site. In addition, a restaurant was to be located in the 1884 service/kitchen wing on the Bridge Street side, and an exhibit about the history of the Jail located on the first floor to be accessible to the public. Further analysis revealed that the carriage house was structurally unsound and much of the original material had been lost, therefore a compromise plan was accepted by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Salem Redevelopment Authority, and Historic Salem to replicate the building, reusing any material that could be salvaged.

New Boston Ventures proposed more changes in early 2008 in response to weakness in the real estate market and changes in the banking and credit markets.

These changes included:

  • Adding two units to the Jail building for a total of 19 units
  • Expanding the new building on the site by adding a wing fronting on St. Peter Street.
  • Applying for federal and state tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic properties. In order to qualify for tax credits, the units in the Jail and Jail Keeper's House would need to be rental apartments for a period of five years. After five years, the units in the Jail and Jail Keeper's House can be converted to condominiums.

Historic Salem supported these changes with the understanding that the use of federal and state tax credits was a reasonable and creative solution to difficult economic realities. In addition, the wing on St. Peter Street appeared to be an improvement on the previous design by providing a stronger streetscape and shielding the parking from public view.

These changes required approval from the Salem Redevelopment Authority, the Design Review Board, and the Planning Board, which were granted in Spring 2008. In addition, the development team asked that the construction of the new building be postponed until the real estate market improved sufficiently to support it.

In May of 2009, despite a very challenging economic climate, the development team closed on its financing and construction commenced. After a year of construction, the Jail renovation, Jail Keeper’s House and Carriage House were completed and ready for occupancy on the extensively renovated site. In April of 2010, an open house for the community celebrated the successful completion of the project and by June all of the units had been rented and were being enjoyed by the new residents.

Historic Salem would like to especially thank the past Presidents and Board members who were most active in this effort: Barbara Cleary, Patti Kelleher, Staley McDermett, Stanley Smith, Larry Spang, Meg Twohey, and John Wathne.

Last updated: June 28th, 2010