As a matter of fact you bring up a very good point San Domang. I myself have never seen the Sans-Souci Palace as it originally looked like before the earthquake and its partial collapse.

San Domang - 31 July 2008 02:34 PM

I'm curious if anyone's ever seen a rendering/painting of what HC's Sans Souci palace looked like in its glory days? I've yet to come across one myself.
Capoix, have you got one in your attic?

Capoix never fails us...lol. Judging from that rendering it really must've been one grand of a place...

Capoix - 31 July 2008 06:33 PM

San Domang - 31 July 2008 02:34 PM

I'm curious if anyone's ever seen a rendering/painting of what HC's Sans Souci palace looked like in its glory days? I've yet to come across one myself.
Capoix, have you got one in your attic?

You know what's great about this palace and everything else that's Haiti: former (mostly illiterate) slaves dreamed and build them.

It's an unfair comparison, but I lived through the blossoming of Key West from a derelict ex-navy port with 100's of badly kept old houses and few tourists. The renewal started simply, with a two or three people with vision and taste just fixing up a few houses, opening cafes, and promoting it to the cognoscenti up north. Before the masses arrived, it was a playground for a mish-mash of well-heeled bohemians & celebs who felt they'd discovered it.
And that happened, like many good things, by word of mouth.

The key is to draw the attention of that class of people - trendsetters, if you will. Haiti did this effortlessly in the 70's in Port au Prince and to a lesser degree, Jacmel (Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" had a house there; the Hollywood types flocked to Habitation LeClerc near Port). It can happen again. There are a lot of restless & rich in the states who may bypass Havana once it opens. Not everyone likes the Cuban culture. But the opening of Havana to US citizens, possibly in 2009, will only fuel interest in Le Cap.

Jacmel seems to be emerging as the kind of place these people would like, but Le Cap offers so much more i think - beaches, history, grandeur. The bidonvilles struck me as the biggest eyesore/obstacle when i was there in '94. I have no idea how to overcome that. But the potential is real.

What a cool thought: the legendary Paris of the New World, come to life again. And here's a unserious thought: bargain with France over the $22billion reparations in exchange for renaming it Cap Francais.

The building was painted in yellow with bright white trim. You can actually see in places where the yellow paint still remains although much faded. Must have been gorgeous in 1820. I think an earthquake hit in like 1842 and put it into its final ruins. IN 1820 the place had been ransacked and stripped clean of all furnishings by Boyer's troops.

Boyer retained much of HC's correspondence that wre found at Sans-Souci in 1820.

Ti Joe - Thanks for putting that up! Its an amazing creation.

It appears very difficult to find an image of Sans-Souci prior to the earthquake. I guess it would take going back to the country of origin relative to design. I am not sure if that is Germany or Britain. Anybody have info on who was the architect for Sans-Souci and from what country?

gunner - 01 August 2008 06:19 PM

It appears very difficult to find an image of Sans-Souci prior to the earthquake. I guess it would take going back to the country of origin relative to design. I am not sure if that is Germany or Britain. Anybody have info on who was the architect for Sans-Souci and from what country?

The Architect was Chéri Warloppe ....

Capoix - 01 August 2008 08:40 PM

gunner - 01 August 2008 06:19 PM

It appears very difficult to find an image of Sans-Souci prior to the earthquake. I guess it would take going back to the country of origin relative to design. I am not sure if that is Germany or Britain. Anybody have info on who was the architect for Sans-Souci and from what country?

The Architect was Chéri Warloppe ....

Capoix, I know Cheri Warloppe was the contractor in charge of building the Sans-Souci Palace. Was he also the architect?
I also know the Haitian engineer Henri Barré built the Citadel, but I've never heard of any architect for any of those two constructions. Would the plans have come for foreign countries?

Tibobo/GanitoBibao - 02 August 2008 01:34 AM

Capoix, I know Cheri Warloppe was the contractor in charge of building the Sans-Souci Palace. Was he also the architect?
I also know the Haitian engineer Henri Barré built the Citadel, but I've never heard of any architect for any of those two constructions. Would the plans have come for foreign countries?

Henri Barré went to France to study on the plans to contruct the Citadel which started in 1804 so he probably laid the foundation of it.

Warloppe was the contractor but since the real architect name is missing from history we can only claim Warloppe with the construction of it......unless new information is brought about.

Many have claimed that german architects planned it out but there are no evidence on such a thing...........Whoever the real architect was he surely was European driven.

Germany's Postdam Sans Souci





Milot's Sans Souci




I still say its a mishmash of several european influences not just one


Where's Jesus? Isn't he knowledgable in Architecture? Elaborate for us, Jesus.