Port-au-Prince’s Hotel Oloffson, a beacon of Haitian culture, lost to flames

This is a developing story. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Hotel Oloffson, a storied symbol of Haitian culture and history, was consumed by flames on July 6 after armed gangs set fire to the structure, according to Patrick Moussignac, director of Radio Télévision Caraïbes, Le Quotidien 509 reported. 

The attack on the community where the hotel was located began late Saturday, according to James Jean-Louis, who lives above the Oloffson. He told The Associated Press in a phone interview Sunday that he observed the flames as he and other residents were chased out while police and gangs exchanged heavy gunfire.

Once a bustling hub for artists, writers and world leaders, the Oloffson had been forced to close in recent months as insecurity worsened in Haiti’s capital, forcing its staff and guests to flee.

Hundreds of Haitians and foreigners mourned the news as it spread across social media, with the hotel manager on Monday confirming the fire on X in a brief comment. Even though gang violence had forced the hotel in Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, to close in recent years, many had hoped it would reopen.

‘It’s our home’

Originally built in the late 19th century as the residence of President Tirésias Simon Sam, the gingerbread Gothic landmark served as an American military hospital during the U.S. occupation (1915-1934) before transforming into a hotel in the 1930s. Its distinctive architecture and lush tropical gardens made it a sanctuary for creativity and dialogue.

The hotel attracted artists, intellectuals and politicians from Haiti and beyond, including Jacqueline Onassis and Tennessee Williams. It also survived coups, dictatorships and the devastating 2010 earthquake.

Isabelle Morse, daughter of Richard Morse, who became the hotel’s manager several decades ago, said he loved having writers, photographers and other artists at the Oloffson.

“His sense of community was very important to him,” she said in a phone interview Monday, describing the hotel as “his whole life.”

“For him, it represented freedom, where people from all walks of life could come in and share that space,” she said.

Richard Morse did not return a message from The Associated Press seeking comment. The renowned band he founded, RAM, posted on X early Monday that the hotel had “burned to the ground.”

His daughter said her parents had hoped to reopen the Oloffson.

“It’s not only a business, it’s our home. We were raised there,” she said. “It was more about moving back home rather than reopening the business.”

Haiti’s heritage up in flames

The Oloffson served as a presidential summer palace in the early 1900s and then became a U.S. Marine Corps Hospital before a Swedish sea captain converted it into a hotel in the 1930s.

It also served as inspiration for the fictional Hotel Trianon in Graham Greene’s 1966 novel “The Comedians,” set in Haiti under the brutal dictatorship of Francois Duvalier, best known as “Papa Doc.”

In real life, tourism dwindled under the Duvaliers, and the hotel became a respite for aid workers and foreign correspondents.

In the late 1980s, Richard Morse became the hotel’s manager. His band, RAM, played Haitian roots music on Thursday nights that became legendary, as were the Day of the Dead celebrations known as Fèt Gede that drew in Vodou practitioners.

The Oloffson was nestled in the upscale community of Pacot in the southeast corner of the Port-au-Prince capital. It was surrounded by lush gardens and often described as a mythical place, renowned for its intricate latticework, turrets and spires and creaking parquet floors that characterize Haiti’s endangered gingerbread homes.

A 1940s advertisement by Haiti’s tourism department said that the hotel was situated “in the coolest section of the town” and noted that English, French, German and Spanish were spoken there.

The hotel closed in recent years as gangs began raiding and seizing control of once peaceful communities.

“A lot of Haiti’s architectural heritage is going up in flames right now with so-called leaders stand by with their hands in their pockets,” Deibert said. ”The destruction of the Oloffson is symbolic of the destruction of Haiti’s history and culture that we’ve been watching over the last several years.”

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