House of Culture reopens on Saturday
On Saturday afternoon the public is invited to the official reopening of a building that, from its stately perch on the Belize City foreshore, has witnessed many of the major events in Belize’s colourful history. News 5’s Patrick Jones managed to beat the crowd with an advanced tour.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
Walking through Government House is like stepping back two centuries in time. Built in 1814, the structure has proven its strength. And while Governors named Despard, Burns, and Garvey have long vacated the premises, the new occupants are giving Belizeans a previously unavailable peek into the inner sanctum of this once off limits institution. Director of the House of Culture, Lita Krohn, says that by studying what went on here we can learn much about where we may be headed.
Lita Krohn, Director, House of Culture
“Yeah, because it’s our history. Whether it’s good, bad, or ugly it’s your history. Some people are offended by the prison; well that’s what happened. Perhaps if we’re mindful of maybe colonialism and its evils, then we don’t want any neo-colonialism and its evils, or the domination of one group over another group. The fact that later on Marcus Garvey visited here in the 1920s, Cassius Clay visited here. So now all of us will be able to visit. Upstairs it’s recital and rentals of those places. Downstairs you pay a minimum to go and see the exhibitions.”
The displays will include an artful mix of past and present photographs and other items that are inextricably linked to the nation’s development from colony to nationhood.
Lita Krohn
“This is a historic exhibition. And we have how Government House was built, some documents about Government House, built in 1815. Although one of the documents says 1815 and the picture says built 1814. There is a little discrepancy there. We have shots of refurbishments from way back then, this is not the first refurbishment. We have a shot of the whole of Belize City, cycloramic bird’s eye view of Belize British Honduras 1899. Barry Bowen’s print shop was kind enough to donate that to us. And then we have shots of government house before hurricane ’31, after hurricane ’31, before Hurricane Hattie, after hurricane Hattie. We have Keith; that tree broke down the front façade.”
Plate ware for big dinner parties. It has the insignia of the queen, all over it: Elizabeth Regina, E.R. Wine glasses, sherry glasses, port glasses, dessert, coffee, little egg holders. I suppose ice cream, something for cake, of course the tea, very important aspect of English colonialism, all the silver and trappings of tea and diner. Very nice.”
The adjacent wall will feature photographs of past administrators and governors, along with newspaper clippings of historical events.
Lita Krohn
“A treaty was the treaty of Belize 1853 and other very important meetings took place. This one was in 1884. Here you have the tour of a governor in the districts, Benque Viejo. Sir Alan Burns on a visit to Punta Gorda. We found this in the archives, first family of the land; this is Garvey, Governor Garvey. He is very well known for having been the governor of devaluation. There he is, which 1949, which spurred the beginning of the People’s Committee and then the People’s United Party as a result.”
But the history of Belize is not only the story of politics.
Lita Krohn
“We’re trying to present here visual arts of Belize from 1950 to 2003. So we’ll have like Teryl from early artist. This is Carolyn Carr, Nelson Young, Walter Castillo, Norris Hall. There is a Lita Krohn, Manuel Villamor, Michael Gordon, Percival Cain, the great Belisle, Rachel Heusner.”
And these are only on the ground floor.
Lita Krohn
“Everyone is impressed with this beautiful, one gorgeous staircase, mahogany. So all this has been refurbished.”
Patrick Jones
“This is a part of the original décor of the building?”
Lita Krohn
“Yeah, yes it is. This used to be a bedroom; I am not sure which one used to be master, which one was not. This is now a multi-visual room, air conditioned for press briefings, press conferences. The room next door is a conference room that will be rented.”
Patrick Jones
“Do you think that giving Belizeans access to this building and some of the major decisions made here, do you think that will help us appreciate more or Belizeaness?”
Lita Krohn
“Any part of history, whether it’s slavery, enriches us. The less we know about our country, the poorer off we are individually. For example, I just found out that emancipation celebrations were held in this garden. The Mosquito Kings that were crowned in the 1850s, 1825s, around then from St. John’s Cathedral, they held their receptions here. So there is all kind of things that if these walls could speak they’d be telling us a lot of things. And that just enriches you. It doesn’t mean you have to be a worshiper of colonialism to like this house.”
Patrick Jones, for News 5.
Visitors to Government House pay a five dollars fee. Schools that make advanced bookings enter for free, and students with I.D. pay two dollars. Krohn says the money goes towards the upkeep of the building. The renovations to the House of Culture were carried out at a cost of eight hundred thousand dollars by the Mexican firm of Bufete Delta under the supervision of Strukture Architects of Belize. Saturday’s public opening begins at one, with a traditional Taiwanese puppet show at four-thirty.
