Ducor Hotel

Ducor Hotel

Former pool area
Former names Ducor Palace, Ducor Intercontinental Hotel
General information
Type Hotel
Location Liberia
Address Broad Street, Monrovia
Coordinates 6°19′13″N 10°48′49″W / 6.32028°N 10.81361°W / 6.32028; -10.81361
Elevation 7 m (23 ft)
Current tenants None (formerly numerous squatters)
Completed 1960
Owner formerly Intercontinental Hotels

The Ducor Palace Hotel is a building in Monrovia, Liberia. The building overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Saint Paul River and Monrovia's West Point district. Established in 1960 as a luxury hotel, it had 106 rooms on eight stories at the highest point of the city.[1][2] It is located on Ducor Hill, at the end of Broad Street across from United Nations Boulevard in Monrovia's main business district. The building has fallen into extensive disrepair and was occupied by squatters who were removed before a failed effort at a Libyan-funded renovation.[3]

History

Operated by the Intercontinental Hotels chain, the Ducor Hotel was the first international-class hotel constructed in Liberia, and was for many years one of the few five-star hotels in all of Africa.[4][5] The inauguration ceremony of the hotel was an international affair, attended by President Sekou Toure of Guinea, and Israeli Foreign Minister Golda Meir, among others.[5]

During its years of operation, it continued to host important meetings between African leaders.[6] Idi Amin is said to have swum in its pool while carrying his gun.[3] President Houphouet-Boigny of the Ivory Coast was so impressed with the hotel during his stay that he commissioned its Israeli builder, Moshe Mayer, to erect a 12-story luxury hotel in Abidjan, Hotel Ivoire.[7] The Ducor's various amenities, such as its pool, tennis courts, and a French restaurant, made it popular with tourists from the Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, as well as visiting professionals from the US, Europe, and Asia.

With political uncertainty looming, the Ducor Hotel closed in 1989, just before the coup led by Charles Taylor which ousted President Samuel Doe and marked the beginning of the First Liberian Civil War. The building endured much damage during this period, due both to the violence of the war and to postwar looting. During this time, displaced residents of many of Monrovia's slums began to occupy the hotel's empty rooms.

In 2007, the Ministry of Justice began to evict the Ducor Hotel's residents.[8] This eviction process is now complete, and the Hotel is free of all squatters.

In 2008, the Government of Liberia signed a lease agreement with the Government of Libya, who began clearing the property of debris in 2010 in preparation for a bidding process to be completed by June 2010.[9] The Italian design firm Serapioni prepared models of the renovated hotel.[10]

The project was delayed several times before finally being abandoned upon Liberia's severing of diplomatic relations with the Gaddafi government following the outbreak of the 2011 Libyan civil war.[11]

Gallery

References

  1. ↑ Owen's African and Middle East commerce & travel and international register. Owen's Commerce & Travel, Ltd. 1962. p. 188. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  2. ↑ Great Britain. Board of Trade (July 1961). Board of Trade journal. H.M. Stationery Off. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  3. 1 2 Howden, Daniel (2012). "THE LAST GUEST". Roads and Kingdoms.
  4. ↑ Schwartz, Peggy; Schwartz, Murray (31 May 2011). The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus. Yale University Press. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-300-15534-1. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  5. 1 2 Yitzhak Oron, Ed. Middle East Record Volume 1, 1960. The Moshe Dayan Center. p. 312. GGKEY:3KXGTYPACX2. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  6. ↑ Huband, Mark (30 June 1998). The Liberian Civil War. Psychology Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-7146-4785-2. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  7. ↑ Ebony. Johnson Publishing Company. December 1970. p. 83. ISSN 0012-9011. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  8. ↑ http://www.micat.gov.lr/press.php?news_id=24
  9. ↑ http://www.libyaonline.com/business/details.php?id=14250
  10. ↑ "Ducor Palace Hotel - Monrovia, Liberia". Serapioni. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  11. ↑ Fofana, Fatoumata N. (June 20, 2011). "Libya Defaulted on Projects". Daily Observer.


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