Famous Landmarks in Georgetown
Timber Gothic Revival churches and Renaissance Revival civic halls define its centre.
Georgetown's protected landmarks are civic and religious buildings from the nineteenth century, clustered on streets such as Church Street, Regent Street, Avenue of the Republic and Brickdam. Two of them, Georgetown City Hall and St. George's Cathedral, share a Gothic Revival vocabulary despite being built roughly a decade apart, while the older Parliament Building of 1834 follows the Renaissance Revival taste that preceded it. Material sets the cathedral apart: built almost entirely of timber, it still reaches 43.5 metres, an unusual height for a wooden structure. City Hall's dense Gothic ornament has drawn comparisons across the wider Caribbean, and both it and the cathedral sit on the tentative World Heritage list, while the cathedral also carries national monument status.
St. George's Cathedral
1892–1899 · Arthur Blomfield
Built of timber rather than stone, it follows the Gothic Revival style and stands 43.5 metres (143 ft) tall on Church Street, an unusual height for a wooden building.
St. George's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral on Church Street and the seat of the Bishop of Guyana. Designed by Arthur Blomfield, it opened for worship on 24 August 1892, though construction continued until 1899. Built largely of timber in the Gothic Revival style, it reaches 43.5 metres (143 ft), an unusual height for a wooden building. It has been designated a national monument and sits on the tentative list for World Heritage status.
- It is built almost entirely of timber yet still reaches 43.5 metres (143 ft), a height rarely attempted in wood.
- Its congregation began worshipping in the building seven years before construction was actually finished.
Photo: Dan Lundberg (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Georgetown City Hall
1889 · Ignatius Scoles
Standing at the corner of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, it is an elaborately trimmed Gothic Revival building often called the most picturesque structure in the city, and counted among the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the Caribbean.
Georgetown City Hall stands at the corner of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic. Designed by the Reverend Ignatius Scoles in 1887, it was completed in June 1889 and houses the offices of the Mayor, the City Council and the City Engineer. Its elaborate detailing has led observers to call it the most picturesque building in the city and one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in the Caribbean. Guyana proposed it for World Heritage status in 1995; it remains on the tentative list.
- Its architect, Ignatius Scoles, was a Reverend rather than a professional builder.
- Guyana nominated it for World Heritage status in 1995, and decades later it remains only on the tentative list.
Photo: JukoFF. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Parliament Building
1834 · Joseph Hadfield
Its Renaissance Revival facade at Brickdam sets it apart from the Gothic Revival civic buildings nearby; inside, an elaborately decorated ceiling designed by Cesar Castellani had to be entirely reconstructed between 2000 and 2005 after heat and humidity damage.
The Parliament Building houses the National Assembly of Guyana on Brickdam, on the site once occupied by the Court of Policy. Designed by Joseph Hadfield in the Renaissance Revival style, it was completed on 21 February 1834. Its Parliamentary Chamber has a decorated ceiling by Cesar Castellani, which deteriorated in the humid climate and was reconstructed between 2000 and 2005. A dedicated Parliament Library opened inside the building in 1998.
- It stands on the site once occupied by the Court of Policy.
- Its decorated ceiling deteriorated so badly in the humid climate that it had to be rebuilt between 2000 and 2005.
- A Parliament Library was added only in 1998, more than 160 years after the building was completed.
Photo: Dan Sloan (CC BY-SA 2.0)
History
The oldest of the three, the Parliament Building, was designed by Joseph Hadfield and completed on 21 February 1834 at Brickdam, on the site formerly occupied by the Court of Policy; its Renaissance Revival chamber ceiling, decorated by Cesar Castellani, later suffered so much heat and humidity damage that it was rebuilt between 2000 and 2005, and a Parliament Library was added in 1998. Georgetown City Hall followed in the Gothic Revival style: designed by the Reverend Ignatius Scoles in 1887 and completed in June 1889 at the corner of Regent Street and Avenue of the Republic, it was admired as one of the finest Gothic buildings in the Caribbean and proposed for World Heritage status in 1995. St. George's Cathedral, designed by Arthur Blomfield, opened for worship in 1892 and was finished in timber Gothic Revival form by 1899, reaching 43.5 metres on Church Street.