December 5, 2025
Port-au-Prince, July 6, 2025 — A devastating fire on Saturday reduced the iconic Hotel Oloffson to ashes, marking the loss of one of Haiti’s last remaining architectural and cultural landmarks.
Abandoned in recent years due to rising insecurity, the Oloffson had long stood as a symbol of Haiti’s rich and complex history. Many observers suspect the blaze was the result of a deliberate act, though no official cause has yet been confirmed.
Originally built as a presidential residence, the hotel later served as a hospital during the American occupation and, from the 1930s onward, became a vibrant center for the arts. Its distinctive gingerbread-style architecture and lush tropical gardens embodied the elegance of Creole design, drawing visitors from around the world.
Over the decades, the Oloffson welcomed a parade of notable figures, from Jacqueline Kennedy to Mick Jagger. The hotel was immortalized in literature when British author Graham Greene set his 1966 novel The Comedians there, renaming it “Hotel Trianon.”
In recent years, under the stewardship of Richard and Lunise Morse, the hotel became home to weekly performances by the band RAM, blending Vodou rhythms with rock and offering a cultural refuge in a city increasingly beset by violence.
The destruction of the Oloffson leaves a significant void in Port-au-Prince’s urban and cultural landscape, already scarred by the loss of other historic landmarks. As the flames consumed its lace-like wooden balconies and timeworn halls, yet another chapter of Haiti’s collective memory was lost — largely unnoticed by the wider world.
