The
Magnificent Seven
Before the magnificent seven were established, the
government at the time were leasing seven lots via an auction. The government
kept three lots in order to construct an education complex and Queen’s Royal
College which before 1904 never had an actual home of its own. The residence of
the archbishop of the Anglican Church occupied the second lot while the fifth
lot was occupied by the archbishop of the Catholic Church. The remaining lots
were auctioned off in 1902 and given to Virginie Prada (Milles Fleurs), Lucien
F. Ambard, Leon Agostoni, and C.C. Stollmeyer. All of the Magnificent 7 were
constructed in 1904.
Queen’s Royal College:
Queen’s Royal College (an all boys’ secondary school)
was opened Thursday, 24 March, 1904. Of all the lots of land, this was the
first few to be obtained. It was designed by architect Daniel M. Hahn and
represents a German renaissance appearance. The inside of the building is
defined as having a tropical appearance. In the picture shown above, the broad
galleries, clock tower and clock are seen. This is still one of the most
prominent schools in Trinidad which has its own website. http://www.qrc.edu/home
Anglican Bishop’s House/ Hayes Court:
The plot of land north of Queen’s Royal College was
not constructed yet as the Anglican Bishop was not ready. In 1910, the building
was complete and was named after Bishop Thomas Hayes who was the intended
occupant of the building but died before it was completed. A mixture of French
and English styled architecture is seen. This building had firstly been used as
the residence for the third Anglican bishop in Trinidad and then later the rest
except for Bishop Arther Anstey who had to leave the structure in the hands of
the French Consul. This structure remained in a better condition than the other
structures but Anglican Bishop Rev Claude Berkley in 2014 raised $500,000.00 to
restore this building to its original magnificence but a total of $24 million
was needed.
Ambard House/Roomor:
Following the Mille Fleurs was the home of architect
Lucien F. Ambard who was a cocoa merchant and had designed this building. This
particular building was considered as the most magnificent of all the others
with its French baroque colonial style. The materials used in this building was
imported from different European countries such as the tiles from France,
marble from Italy and the iron frameworks from Scotland. Most of the building
had been constructed from wood and the wood for the beams came from Erin
estate. The amazing thing about this building is that the family (Roodal) that
lived there since 1940, the generations of that family still lives there today
and is the only structure of the magnificent seven that is still a private
structure. The building is also known as
Roomor which is a combination of the names Roodal and Morgan. According to us, this house was the most attractive of the Magnificent Seven.
Catholic Archbishop’s House:
This particular residence had a different
architectural design from the others. It was built by an Irish architect who
incorporated an Indian style to the structure. The building itself was said to
have an Arabic appearance but the actual style was Romanesque Irish. The
materials marble and red granite were imported from Ireland for the outside,
while the inside panelling, stairs and floors were made from local cedar and
mahogany. Renovations were done in 1968 and the inside of the building was said
to have mostly been changed. The buildings consists of two floors that are used
for offices, library, rooms, conference centres and a dining room. The Roman
Catholic archbishop of Port-of-Spain currently resides here.
Stollmeyer’s Castle:
This particular building also known as Killarney was
the first of all the seven to be completed and lived in. This building was
designed by Scottish architect Robert Gillies and was said to have been
designed like a wing from the Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Charles Fourier Stollmeyer constructed his castle for
him and his wife to reside, however she preferred a simpler residence. The
building was given to their son Charles Conrad Stollmeyer. Charles and his wife
lived there until their deaths in 1965 and 1969 respectively. The materials
used to construct Stollmeyer’s Castle were mostly imported, for instance the
purple-heart wood originating from Guyana was used for flooring and the
staircases. The design of the house was patterned by Balmoral Castle in
Scotland. Bricks trimmed with hand-hewn limestone were imported and Italian
marble with small vertical towers were utilized. This breath-taking structure
was used as the office of the prime minster, however it is currently under
renovations and unoccupied.
White Hall:
Of all the private homes of the strip of land, the
largest was this. Initially, the building was called “Rosenweg” also known as
“The Way of the Roses” by the original owner, Leon Agostini, due to its
rose-pink paint. Leon Agostini later passed away in 1906. The mortgage of the
house was too high for his widowed wife to pay thus the financer, William
Gordon Gordon foreclosed it. The house was later sold to Robert Henderson, a
businessman and member of the Legislative Council. He gave the house a coat of
white paint and renamed it White Hall. He lived there with his family until his
death in 1918, while his family continued to reside until 1940. They moved out
in order to allow the US to use it as Base Command during the Second World War.
Following the war, the building remained empty until it was bought over by the
government. This building represents a Moorish Mediterranean style. Whitehall
was built by James Morre and was designed in a Corsican style with Venetian
influence. James Moore was originally from Barbados and had imported natural
white limestone from the island itself. Most of the rooms in the interior of
this distinguished three floored house had been designed using a German styled
architecture although the drawing room was French-styled. Whitehall has been
described as being elaborately designed and rightly so because this structure
was remarkable to look at it in its original beauty. The house was used as the
Office of the Head of the Government, however, the building is currently being
renovated and hence, we could have only taken a picture of the top part of the
house.
Millie Fleurs:
Alongside the lot of the Anglican Bishop stood a house
which belonged to Dr. Enrique Prada, a businessman and borough councillor. His
wife Virginie Prada purchased the land and built the house for him. The house
was given the name “Mille Fleurs” because Virginie loved flowers and had a thousand
flowers blooming around the mansion. An early French Renaissance style was
incorporated into the structure with fashioned iron fretwork. However, today
out of the seven structures, this is the most derelict and haven’t been
occupied since 1979. We were unable to acquire a recent picture of this grand
building.
A deep admiration for the
architectural styles exhibited by these seven magnificent structures are felt
when looking at these buildings. It’s a window to the past when the Colonial
powers controlled Trinidad. It brings out a feeling of awe to know that the
Colonial powers brought their amazing architectural styles here and left
monuments that are a wonder to all. To know that some of these structures are
still used today after a hundred years even though renovations of some have
taken place is still astonishing. However, some such as Millie Fleurs that were
left abandoned creates a sense of sadness. This once great attraction has been
left alone while we all stand witness to its fading beauty while nothing is
done.
The Magnificent Seven follow
the urban model theory by Hoyt, whereby the high class houses were found in the
same region. The Magnificent Seven are buildings representing the high class,
therefore they were located closer to the Western side of Port-of-Spain, nearer
to Maraval which contained many high income households. The Magnificent Seven
are not only representative of social stratification but as well as
colonialism. It does in fact show the post-colonial nature of the city. The area
whereby the colonial powers lived were the high class areas while the others
were of lower value. That stratification is inherited from the imperial powers
who enforced such.
The
history of some of the Magnificent Seven buildings put us to think about how
that has affected us as Trinidadians. Firstly, the English Government decided
to acquire three lots of the land for the school, it seems as though that
mentality was left behind, whereby the government can take any land they desire
for their specific purposes. Additionally, the history of White Hall showed
Capitalism in its purest form. Since the wife of Leon Agostini was unable to
pay the mortgage because of her husband’s death, the financer immediately kicks
her out and forecloses the house. That sort of behaviour is present in today’s
society, where money trumps humanity. Additional to the White Hall’s history,
the family that occupied the house after was also moved out to accommodate the
US Base Command. That in itself is Colonialism at its finest, forcing out an
indigenous group from its territory to occupy the area for itself.
They say
that the Magnificent Seven represents our culture, our heritage, yet most of
the architectural designs for these buildings were adopted from other European
countries. The magnificence of these buildings is that they are grand old
structures. Yes, the architecture, the size and the stability of these
buildings are to be admired but naming these specific buildings as the
Magnificent Seven defines our thinking. It shows us that we as Trinidadians
will accept and admire aspects of the European life. However, the same
Trinidadians who stand in awe when observing these sensational spectacles are
often the same persons who refuse to refer to an indigenous camp or anything
symbolic of East Indian or African heritage as magnificent. In fact, the first
train of thought that may enter a Trinidadian’s mind when observing our
unspoken cultural structures is ‘Obeah’. By no means do we consider the
Magnificent Seven as unworthy of praise but we do wonder, if these structures
weren’t of European design, would it still be Magnificent?
These
buildings are a must-see attraction in Trinidad and Tobago due to its
breath-taking appearances and hence are featured in travel guides (Traveldudes)
and GPS sites.
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