f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

The Trinidad
Edson Boodoosingh
experience
The Port of Spain International Waterfront Centre
The Waterfront
by Nasser Khan
Port of Spain, the capital city of Trinidad and Tobago since
1784, a “Port” as its name implies, lies on the seafront nestled
in the protected northwestern peninsula of Trinidad. “Spain”
was maintained as part of its name even though the British
captured it from the Spanish in 1797. Under the Spaniards it
was named Puerto de los Hispanioles and Puerto España and
up to time of the British capture had a population of about
10,000.
At that time, the existing southern-most street in Port of
Spain was Rue de La Marine running east to west. Between
this street and the shoreline was Place de La Marine or Plaza
de La Marina as the Spaniards came to call it though not by
any means a marina as we know it today, but simply a seaside
playground for the city dwellers and others. In honour of their
king, the British called the street, King Street (later Marine
Square North) and renamed the “Place/Plaza,” Marine Square,
later on when the area was filled in and paved according to the
standards at that time. Until Independence in 1962, the area
maintained its name when it became Independence Square.
Today it is known as the Brian Lara Promenade, in honour of
Trinidad and Tobago’s most famous cricketer.
Port of Spain’s waterfront development, from a quiet
shallow seashore with mud flats and mangrove “sea lots” in
places, to an ultra-modern port with a skyline of office and
hotel buildings, can be traced to a series of land reclamation
projects starting around the early 1800s. These projects were
precipitated by the virtual complete destruction of the town
by the Great Fire of 1808. That shallow seashore has evolved
today into, for the most part, a modern deep-water harbour
that stretches from the Lighthouse at the bottom of Frederick
Street, the city’s main street, to the end of Wrightson Road just
before MovieTowne Plaza or Invader’s Bay.
The first large reclamation and development phase took
place from 1803–1823 from Marine Square southward and
thus South Quay was born which allowed for barges and small
boats. In 1842, the now famous landmark the Lighthouse was
built amid some controversy as to its usefulness. By 1845,
the areas adjoining South Quay to the west and south were
developed and were called the St. Vincent Wharf and the
Queen’s Wharf respectively. At this point Frederick, Chacon,
Henry and Charlotte streets were extended southward across
Marine Square to South Quay while further west at the bottom
of Richmond and Edward Streets. Corbeaux town (though
originally Coburg Town) grew out of that section of the
reclaimed land with a jetty serving such commercial activities
as the cattle boats from Venezuela.
What then was the next stage of development With the
booming town and capital city becoming a hub of trade and
commerce for the region the authorities now had to think
of facilitating imports and exports (and later passenger and
cruise ships) via large vessels. Thus began in 1935, the “Deep
Water Harbour Scheme.” The sea at that time came up to
what is now the middle of the relatively newly built Wrightson
Road.
This phase in the development of the city’s waterfront before
and after the building of the Wrightson Road made Corbeaux
Town a thing of the past. The best way to conceptualise this
latest phase was to think of a bowstring stretching across the
sea from the lighthouse to the area just before the MovieTowne
complex where the current port ends. This entire area within
that arc and bowstring was sea area that would have to be
reclaimed, extended from Wrightson out to the bowstring with
deep waters beyond to accommodate the large vessels.
Today, the Port of Port of Spain is the country’s major port
for containerised shipping. Cruise ships dock at the port,
which also operates the ferry service between Trinidad &
Tobago as well as the Port of Spain to San Fernando ferry. The
City Gate terminal at the east end of the waterfront serves as a
transportation hub for public buses and private mini-buses.
The most recent development phase is The Port of Spain
International Waterfront Centre aimed at revitalising,
transforming and modernising the waterfront’s skyline and
had among its master plan the construction of two high-rise
office towers, the Hyatt Regency Hotel, a multi-storey car park,
and a well-landscaped park.
A well-landscaped park is designed for relaxation and
enjoyment of the vast views from the waterfront. The
International Waterfront Centre has become a photographer’s
dream for weddings and other photo shoots. It is also the new
location of the Les Femmes du Chalet (Breakfast Shed), one
of Port of Spain’s famous and culturally significant spots for
local cuisine.
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The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago