Dear Editor,

WE can’t keep them all and some have to go. I make reference to some of Guyana’s wooden historical structures.

The current demolition of the St. Rose’s High School has now fallen prey to the ‘Men with hammers’. Yes, the wooden historic structure in question has always been a beauty in its own right, to be admired whenever I am passing by and it reminds a lot of the European-styled structures. During my first official overseas visit to Suriname, I was the guest of a family who lived in the family quarters of a similar structure on ‘Gravenstraat,central Paramaribo,’ which was also an academic institution. I will definitely miss the site of the St. Rose’s High School historic wooden structure as I did for the Astor cinema which was demolished not so long ago. I hope Guyana will not become a concrete jungle.

There is another iconic wooden treasure at the junction of Camp Street and Church Road, which houses the Go-Invest office which is in close proximity to the St. Rose’s High School and I pray to God that I don’t ever have to witness the demolition of that building. I am well aware that maintenance of such wooden structures comes at a very high cost and I am sure if we seek guidance from the international experts on preservation, we might be able to save a few.

If at any stage the Go-Invest office has to be relocated to a concrete structure, I will fully support such a decision. Because of the building’s central location, perhaps it can be utilised as a museum which houses artefacts of British Guiana which Guyana does not have. One does exist, but it is privately owned on the West Coast (Region Three.)
I am almost certain that there are quite a lot of British Guiana artefacts still in existence in homes and by some sort of special arrangements with owners, perhaps we can one day witness the reality of a British Guiana Museum. That era will play a pivotal role in Guyana’s tourism sector.

Yours Faithfully,
T Pemberton