Overview:
Haiti has misplaced a cultural gem. On July 6, armed gangs torched Lodge Oloffson, lowering the Port-au-Prince landmark to ashes. As soon as a bustling hub for artwork and diplomacy, the historic website had stood deserted amid Haiti’s rising violence.
By Employees Report, The Haitian Occasions (with reporting from Le Quotidien)
The Lodge Oloffson, a storied image of Haitian tradition and historical past, was consumed by flames on July 6 after armed gangs set fireplace to the construction, based on Patrick Moussignac, director of Radio Télévision Caraïbes, Le Quotidien 509 reported.
As soon as a bustling hub for artists, writers and world leaders, the Oloffson had stood deserted in latest months as insecurity worsened in Haiti’s capital.
Initially constructed within the late nineteenth century because the residence of President Tirésias Simon Sam, the gingerbread Gothic landmark served as an American navy hospital throughout the U.S. occupation (1915-1934) earlier than reworking right into a lodge within the Thirties. Its distinctive structure and luxurious tropical gardens made it a sanctuary for creativity and dialogue.
The Lodge Oloffson has burned to the bottom..
Port au Prince, Haiti— RAMhaiti (@RAMhaiti) July 7, 2025
Through the years, the lodge welcomed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mick Jagger, Katherine Dunham, Jonathan Demme and Invoice and Hillary Clinton.
In newer many years, underneath musician Richard A. Morse, the Oloffson turned the guts of Haiti’s cultural revival. Morse’s band RAM blended rock and Vodou rhythms in electrifying performances that made Thursday nights on the lodge legendary.
The destruction of the Oloffson provides to a rising record of cultural casualties in Port-au-Prince, following the decline of different landmarks together with the Rex Theatre and Villa Saint-Louis.
The Haitian Occasions will proceed to watch this story as extra particulars emerge.