Heritage lost

AND JUST like that, a landmark vanishes.

The demolition of the Chinese Association building at 7 St Ann’s Road, Port of Spain, on December 19 is a lamentable development.

Gone in a few hours is a building that had stood for almost a century. During that time, its striking edifice was a powerful symbol of this country’s rich and diverse history. The arrival of the first wave of Chinese labour to our shores goes back to 1806.

But this turn of events was, to some extent, inevitable.

According to the association’s president, Colin Mitchell, the building was in “an advanced state of deterioration.” There had been issues with its foundation. The roof leaked.

Consultants reportedly assessed the timber structure as being compromised by termites, load-bearing walls were unsound, water damage provoked decay.

The sad state of the building had been visible to the naked eye for years, a haunting backdrop to many fetes, markets and events on the premises. It finally lost its race against time this week.

While there is a two-tiered scheme of listed properties and heritage inventory sites administered by the National Trust, this system has not proven effective.

The longer buildings stay in disrepair, the more expensive restoration costs become, the stronger the incentive to tear down. The trust, headquartered at Mille Fleurs, can’t fight economics.

But there are things to be done to prevent buildings from falling into disrepair and to draw attention to the need for fundraising.

Unlike other buildings put in danger or torn down in recent years, the campaign to save 7 St Ann’s Road seemed to attract relatively less energy in a country beleaguered by crime, fatigued by politics and counting every penny.

However, from an architectural perspective alone, this unique building was worthy of salvation.

It featured beautiful wooden fretwork, cast-iron columns, specially etched glass and an ornate metal cresting atop front-facing gables. Wooden jalousies lined imposing windows, ornate brackets sculpted a striking decorative entrance.

And then there is the matter of the association’s long history itself, with figures like Solomon Hochoy having once helmed it.

Though the Chinese community over time went through several waves and its generations, along with the rest of the country, modernised, there was value in maintaining the building’s connection with the past.

There is something ironic about the fact that while our built heritage falls by the wayside – witness the dilapidated Lion House in Chaguanas; the demolished Greyfriars Church in Port of Spain – so many modern, hulking monoliths have been constructed under government arrangements with the China of today.

There are some relics of our history we would do well to get rid of.

But in this instance, it’s a shame what we have lost.