A former hilltop hotel and tourist attraction in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, is currently one of the oldest listings on Realtor.com®.

The building, known as Blackbeard’s Castle—yes, that Blackbeard—is listed for $3.85 million. However, don’t book your stay there just yet.

“It has been closed since the hurricane in 2017, so it has not been operating,” says listing agent April Newland, with Newland Real Estate.

“We get questions all the time from all the cruise ships because the tourists love to go up there and take a picture in front of the castle and in front of the statue of Blackbeard and buy a T-shirt and all those kinds of things,” says Newland. “So anybody that buys it will definitely have an audience that wants to get in there and see it.”

17th-century tower

The tower was built in 1679 to help the locals keep an eye out for invaders and pirates. Also known as Skytsborgtarn, it is one of the few 17th-century fortified towers in the Caribbean. It is a National Historic Landmark.

“There are no rooms in the tower. You just go up a spiral staircase and stand on the top of the tower and look at the town and harbor,” Newland says. “It’s really beautiful because you see the historic town and the harbor of Charlotte Amalie, which is extremely historic.”

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The tower, possibly used by the pirate Blackbeard as a lookout, is part of what was once a popular destination with 21 rooms, a restaurant, and a bar on almost 2 acres. The main attraction was the tower itself, which is in good shape.

“People were paying $21 to go through there, and he got over 100,000 visitors,” Newland says. “So just to have tourists go through, he was making good money.”

Since the place has been closed for several years, Newland says, the entire property needs some work.

“It needs to be remodeled, there’s no doubt about it. Somebody’s going to have to go in there and do some painting and look at how stable the electric and those things are,” she adds. “It was operating up until 2017, so it’s not like it has been [closed] since 1679.”

The current owner estimates it would take about $900,000 to do great upgrades, she adds.

“But if you want to just get the rooms operational, it would probably be half that price,” Newland estimates. “But if you want to make it really plush and fancy and all that, you could go up to around $900,000.”

A piece of history

In addition to the statue of Blackbeard, the sale includes the Three Queens statue, which honors three former enslaved women, Queen Mary, Queen Agnes, and Queen Josiah, who were part of the successful 1878 insurrection known as the “Fireburn.”

A wooden structure named Britannia House, which dates to 1847, and its nearby parking area are also part of the sale.

“The perfect buyer for this is someone that loves history, because you’re not just buying a building. You are buying a piece of history that goes all the way back to the 1600s,” Newland says.

“I really hope that somebody opens it up, because the local community really wants to go there in the evening and have a cocktail, have something to eat, and enjoy the property and look at the town and harbor,” she adds. “I hope somebody really brings it to life the way it used to be.”