Old Library to be restored

The Carnegie Building which formerly housed the Public Library is earmarked for restoration. (FP)

THE HOME OF THE FORMER Public Library and a 100-year-old chattel house in Bridgetown are the first two buildings earmarked under a new restoration programme.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth will launch its National Restoration Programme and the Preservation (Barbados) Foundation Trust on Monday evening at Ilaro Court, St Michael.

It is being held under the patronage of Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave and world-renowned English composer and theatrical producer Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Prime Minister Freundel Stuart; Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, Stephen Lashley; and Chair of the Task Force on the Restoration of Barbados Built Heritage, Sir Henry Fraser will give remarks at the launch.

The Carnegie Building at Coleridge Street, the former home of the Public Library, was built in 1906, funded by a grant made in August 1903 by Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of six Carnegie libraries in the Caribbean region and served as a free public library until it was closed in 2006 as a result of structural damage and deterioration.

Earlier this year, Lashley said it would cost about $1.5 million to restore the building.

Weve done a technical inspection of it to assess the state of disrepair, and I must thank the United States Embassy for providing the funding to do that inspection. The inspection disclosed that the building is not in as bad shape as we would have thought. The structure is still intact and many of the internal features are in place, he said.

The objective of the National Restoration Programme is to garner financial and in-kind support for the restoration of historic properties in Barbados. (PR/SAT)

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Old Library to be restored