Bridgetown Waterfront, Barbados
This is a sketch of the historic Parliament Buildings on the Bridgetown Wharf in Barbados. The west wing of the House of Assembly building was completed in 1872 and the east wing in 1874. There was a large clock tower in the east wing which had to be demolished in 1884, when its foundations started to sink. In 1886, the two towers of the west wing were remodeled and the clock installed in one of these. Material for the buildings is coral limestone, easily obtainable from Barbados quarries and used extensively in Bridgetown buildings. In the Public Buildings, Gothic-revival style is apparent in the pointed arches, the octagonal tower, and the machicolations on the parapets of both wings. The Gothic windows in the chamber of the Parliament building are paned with stained-glass portraits of the kings and queens of England. “Coolers” added to the exterior fit uncomfortably on the pointed-arch windows.
Reference: Historic Architecture in the Caribbean Islands by Edward E. Crain
My friend and I had lunch at the Waterfront Cafe across from it. We had fish cakes, flying fish, potato wedges, salad, and I can’t remember what else, but it was all delicious!! The service was great too. They had a delicious pepper-sauce. It was like a dipping sauce … it had body and was divine…just divine. I love boats a lot, and while I ate, talked, and laughed, I enjoyed examining them all. I love the Bridgetown Wharf! The water enters the city and one of the things I love most about Barbados is that I felt like I was really on an island. The scale of the buildings, the many views of the sea, waters oh so blue, the Jolly Rogers, people partying on boats. It felt free and wide. After my scrumptious meal and drinks I did this sketch.
History of Bridgetown
Bridgetown is the capital and commercial center and has a population of about 80 000. Bridgetown was originally named “Indian Bridge” for the rude bridge which had been constructed over the river (now known as the Careenage) by the Indians. It was later called the “town of St. Michael” in official documents, before finally being named Bridgetown. The Chamberlain Bridge was opened in 1872 and was a manually operated swing bridge allowing entry into the inner basin of the Careenage. In 2006 the Chamberlain Bridge was replaced with a modern lift bridge. In previous times, the careenage was an important hub of activity for inter-island trading vessels. Nowadays the careenage is mainly utilized by pleasure craft (catamarans, yachts, fishing boats, etc).
Reference: http://www.barbados.org/btown.htm
“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.”
~C. Malesherbes
This work by Vernelle Noel is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The Thinking Insomniac 