Georgetown's City Hall listed as World Monument to be preserved

June 7, 2014
edited from Guyana Chronicle article


At a ‘Watch Day Forum’ at the Umana Yana in Kingston, Georgetown, yesterday
Research and Documentation Officer at the Trust, Ms. Lauren Grant explained that City Hall has been successfully selected for listing on its 2014-2016 World Monuments Watch List as a site at risk globally.

Umana Yana, Georgetown, Guyana

This enlistment aims to raise awareness at the international level to promote and aid in the safeguarding and long term survival of this unique wooden structure.

City Hall ,Georgetown, Guyana

The WMF is a private, international, non-profit organisation dedicated to the prevention of historic architecture and cultural sites around the world through field work, advocacy, grant marking and education.

The list offers recognition of the world’s most endangered sites and the WMF will help in its promotion as much as possible, through international linkages and public awareness from various media.

Guyana will raise awareness locally amongst its stakeholders to ensure restoration of this site during and beyond the two year listing period.

This year marks 125 years since the city came into being and, over the years, the city hall building has provided services both to city residents and others in the country.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, also speaking at the event, said he is pleased that City Hall was selected out of the 248 applications which were submitted to WMF.

This is the first such inclusion for Guyana on this list and he said that City Hall was not even supposed to be selected, noting that it should have been maintained.

It means that the site will be known globally and will eventually have a positive effect on Guyana’s tourism sector, Anthony stated.

He admitted that the building had deteriorated and last year the TVA consultants came to Guyana and did a report and from that a number of recommendations were made pertaining to saving it.

This year the Government of Guyana through the National Trust will invest $200M on restoration work Including benefits

Chairman of National Trust, guest lecturer Lennox Hernandez gave an overview of the history and architecture of City Hall, including benefits of its preservation.

He said determined efforts at the restoration should be made as the target is part of Guyana’s heritage and greater emphasis needs to be placed on its protection and maintenance as the country’s historic site.

Hernandez also noted that the architecture of City Hall is of the Gothic revival style with features of the British Victorian era. It shows expert craftsmanship in the manipulation of wood including the decorative use of iron at verandahs and stairways. Its architecture distinguishes it from all others in the country and regional neighbours.

Historically, it is a source of 125 years of our built heritage and, presently, it is being used as the office to carry out the duties of Mayor and City Council.

City Hall was designed by Father Ignatius Scholes, who was born in London and elected an associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1856.

On December 23, 1887,  His Excellency Governor Sir Henry Turner Irving laid the foundation stone for City Hall. Eighteen months later, on July 1, 1889, before a gathering of 400 influential persons, the new offices of the council were declared open.