Bulletin of the ISPAN, No. 17: The Historic Centre of Port-au-Prince, the Image Revealed
Summary: The earthquake as an unwanted survey instrument: with buildings gone, the plan of the old city reads again, street by street, from the Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the Marché Hyppolite through the rues des Fronts-Forts, du Magasin de l'État, Traversière, des Césars and Courbe. The cover is the remains of the Hasboun store.
Key Findings
- The bulletin presents an ISPAN-commissioned study of four blocks in Port-au-Prince's historic center after the 12 January 2010 earthquake.
- The study was linked to the restoration of Marche Hyppolite and to the need to identify heritage buildings before demolition and urban-renewal works.
- The four blocks around Marche Hyppolite are framed as an evidence sample showing the architectural value and richness of the old commercial center.
- The methodology combined field survey, ISPAN monument-identification forms, satellite imagery, aerial photography, ortho-photoplans, historic maps and archival photographs.
- The study had limits because many buildings were abandoned after the earthquake and owners or users were absent, leaving gaps on occupancy, dating and original functions.
- The issue also reports heritage advocacy at international reconstruction meetings and Digicel Foundation support for full restoration of Jacmel's Iron Market.
Full Description
The earthquake as an unwanted survey instrument: with buildings gone, the plan of the old city reads again, street by street, from the Boulevard Jean-Jacques Dessalines and the Marché Hyppolite through the rues des Fronts-Forts, du Magasin de l'État, Traversière, des Césars and Courbe. The cover is the remains of the Hasboun store. One issue of the Bulletin de l'ISPAN, the monthly bulletin of Haiti's Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National, which ran from June 2009 to at least November 2011 and documented one monument, site or historic center per issue.
How to cite
Institute for the Protection of National Heritage (ISPAN), 2010, Bulletin of the ISPAN, No. 17: The Historic Centre of Port-au-Prince, the Image Revealed, https://www.haiti.org/