Monuments of Santo Domingo

Hilda Abreu Utermohlen <hilda [at] codetel__net__do> writes

>... Last month the Secretary of Tourism, the Office of
>Cultural Patrimony and the Commission of Monuments (all government
>institutions) announced that some of them will be available for
>lease, to install restaurants and other places for tourism, "to
>activate the economy, help in their preservation, and to give them a
>better use than they have now". The reaction from different sectors
>of the community was immediate, having found opposition from our
>Cardinal, the local committee of ICOMOS, and the press, among
>others.
>
>In response to this, the government announced today that the lease
>will be postponed until public hearings are held in February.
>Therefore, I would like to hear from anyone who has an opinion on
>the issue, or experience with similar situations, or who can direct
>me to any literature that talks about it. Has this been done in
>other places? Any comments, suggestions are welcome.

My suggestion is to get in touch with Gustavo Araoz, US-ICOMOS:
<garaoz [at] usicomos__org> who has information on architectural
preservation work done on fortresses and other pre- and Colonial
structures in the Caribbean. He might have information on the pros
and cons of the use of these buildings for commercial ventures, such
as what is happening in Old Habana in programs coordinated by the
Office of the Historian of the City of La Havana.

Rosa Lowinger <scspacific [at] aol__com> might have info also.  She is out
of the country right now and might not have seen this Conservation
DistList.

Amparo R. de Torres
Special Projects Officer
Conservation Division
LM G 38
202-707-1120/1026
Fax: 202-707-1525


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 13:42
                Distributed: Wednesday, February 2, 2000
                       Message Id: cdl-13-42-018
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