“THE AGENT in charge of the sale of the renowned Gingerbread House around the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port-of-Spain yesterday called for help in finding a suitable buyer of the property.The call for buyers of the landmark comes as hundreds of citizens, both at home and abroad, continued to join the campaign to lobby Government to purchase the house which has been described as “Trinidad’s visual heritage at its best.” Responding to the increasing outcry over the proposed sale of the property, Ann Marie Aboud, of Liftetime Realty, said, “instead of everybody knit-picking they can help us sell the house, to find someone who will love the house like we did….” [Read original article]
“Trinidad’s internet elite have a new rallying cry: Save the Boissiere House. There’s even a Facebook group and an online petition devoted to the cause, so you know they mean business. Boissiere House, located at 12 Queen’s Park West in Port of Spain, is one of the last remnants of a dying breed: a beautiful piece of creole “gingerbread” architecture, characterised by intricate and elegant fretwork. The house is being offered for sale - asking price US$10m - but as Nicholas Laughlin points out (via Newsday)….” [Read original article
“….But lasting change won’t happen until everyone feels involved and invested in the preservation effort, until the issue is brought home in that kind of personal way, the issue will continue to be largely ignored by the larger public, whose concerns are the first items on the agenda of the politicians who can change the nature of this discourse.
Doing that is going to mean identifying many different and geographically dispersed examples of our national heritage and creating discussion and interest around them where they exist, encouraging knowledge tours by schoolchildren and bringing history back to communities in a way that excites and intrigues. When a politician’s child comes home and asks if they are going to knock down a house, building or historical site that they have drawn and studied at school; the discussion about saving our heritage will have a fundamentally different tone.” [Read original article]
“When I was little, I used to play a little game called “that’s my house.” It wasn’t so much a game, I guess — whenever I drove past a beautiful home, I’d declare, “that’s my house!” I’m sure you might have played the same game whenever you drove through nice neighborhoods as a young’un. Every Sunday when we drove around the Queen’s Park Savannah on the way to All Saints Church, we passed “my house” — the Boissiere House, popularly known as the Gingerbread House. It’s the most fanciful fairytale of a house I’ve ever seen. And it’s up for sale, and in the opinion of local activists, it’s also in danger of being destroyed forever….” [Read original article]
“While the public clamours for the historic Boissiere House to be saved, can’t corporate Trinidad and Tobago step up to the plate? Can’t the directors of our indigenous companies and conglomerates give up the vehicle upgrade this year and throw in to purchase the property at least? Neal and Massy? Ansa McAl? One Caribbean Media? Certainly you can slum in mid-range luxury for a year or two instead of going for the Porsche SUV with all the options this time around. Can the financial sector decide to grant the loan to purchase the spot at their minimum rate and call it part of their contribution to the community? RBTT? Republic? First Citizens?….” [Read original article]
“We can pressure the government to purchase this building but would the property then go the way of Milles Fleurs which is now a tragic eyesore. If the Prime Minister can mobilize the resources to do the level of construction that we see around us daily, surely resources can be directed to Milles Fleurs. And has anyone really looked at what is going on with Stollmeyer’s Castle?” [Read original article]
“Over 20 years ago this house was in danger. A hastily organised group comprising John Newel Lewis, Claude Gilleaume, Megan Brown, Raul Poon Kong, Debra Reynolds and many other architects, artists and concerned Trinis pulled out all the stops and fought to save this house. We picketed successfully for days, specially at rush hour traffic, to save this house from being knocked down. Now that I’m living in Barbados I can’t picket on the streets but I can picket by email and do hope that we can save this house from the fate of so many others. ****, please take some photos of it for me, I’d like to paint it one day!….” [Read original article]
“WANT to buy a one of a kind landmark?? Been itching to get your hands on the 104-year-old ? Gingerbread House? around the Queen’s Park Savannah? Now’s your chance. The historic property at 12 Queen’s Park West, Port-of-Spain, has been listed for sale on the American website craiglist.org for an asking price of US$10 million (TT$63 million)….” [Read original article]
“How do we save these beautiful buildings? This is not a new question. The Heritage Trust Act was passed in Parliament in 1991. So how is it that here we are in 2008 and we are all still clamouring against the destruction of the nation’s rich architectural heritage. I spoke with Rudylynn Roberts, secretary of the National Heritage Trust Council in an attempt to understand the process involved in trying to save a building. I am going to do a time line as I understand it….” [Read original article]
“There are so many things to be anxious or angry about in this country these days–crime, corruption, smelters, steel mills, dolphin-slaughter, traffic–that the fate of an old house may seem trivial. But 12 Queen’s Park West, the Boissiere House, is not just an old house. It is a gorgeous example of the late Victorian gingerbread style that was once typical of Port of Spain. It is a major city landmark, familiar to tens–even hundreds–of thousands, and known to many simply as “the Gingerbread House”. It is the ultimate creole house, part Amerindian ajoupa, part French chateau, part Chinese pagoda, built with the sweat and labour of forgotten ancestors. It is a national architectural treasure….” [Read original article]
