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Trinidadians like to refer to the Savannah as the largest roundabout
in the world, since vehicular traffic around the Savannah flows
only one way.
It is a large, open field occupying some 260- acres of land and
is over 180 years old.
The land was part of an estate owned by the Peschier family, until
British Governor Ralph Woodford bought it in 1820 and turned it
into a city park.
Members of the Peschier family are buried in a plot in the centre
of the Savannah.
The Savannah also attracts strolling lovers and children who play
on the grass, stray dogs, and youths who play football and cricket,
and limers who loll on the many benches in and around the field.
It is also a magnet for foreign visitors who admire the Victorian
buildings located mainly on the western end of the Savannah, including
the Scottish-style Stollmeyer’s Castle, the classical White
Hall, the Archbishop’s Palace and the baroque Italian-style
Queen’s Royal College.
In fact, seven classical buildings face the Savannah on its western
side and are known as the magnificent seven, attracting many foreign
visitors armed with cameras.
The Emperor Valley Zoo, which was established in 1952, is located
on the northern side and is bordered on the east by the beautiful
botanical gardens, which contain some of the oldest collection of
exotic plants in the western hemisphere.
Another section of the botanical gardens is located across the street
on the southern side of the zoo, and to the north is located the
President’s Ground, a soccer and rugby playing field for youths
and other residents.
This field adjoins the land housing the official residence of the
Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister.
Located north-east of the Savannah is the Queen’s Hall, a
venue for cultural and other events, which is bordered by the President’s
Grounds to the north and is just east of the now extinct Pelican
Inn Pub, which was closed down last June to make way for a modern
concrete structure to house a hotel residential complex.
The pub, which attracted many foreign visitors, was located in a
classic Victorian-style house on Coblentz Avenue and many of its
regulars considered its demolition an offence bordering on sacrilege.
In early March, it was announced that Prime Minister Patrick Manning
planned to take over the President’s Ground for use as part
of his official residence.
Local residents complained that the planned move emphasised the
government’s lack of sensitivity and was another demonstration
of its failure to uphold the country’s architectural and cultural
heritage.
Residents of Cascade and St. Ann’s held a protest march in
March, to denounce Manning’s move and local youths later staged
an all-day party with music and barbecues to demonstrate their rebellion.
Manning has remained silent about the protests, while local youths
continue to play football on the grounds, especially on weekends.
Some 20 years ago, another Savannah beauty, the classical Queen’s
Park Hotel, a popular liming spot, bit the dust when it was taken
over as the headquarters of a foreign oil company.
But to the company’s credit, it tried its best to preserve
the facade of the white-painted building.
Some older residential buildings located on the eastern side are
still standing, silent sentinels and reminders of a more quiet and
graceful era.
A construction boom is now underway in TnT, an indication of the
wealth being earned by the massive increase of oil prices over the
past years.
The government has contracted the Urban Development Corporation
of Trinidad and Tobago (UDECOTT) to help transform Port of Spain
into the financial and business hub of the English-speaking Caribbean.
At least 10 energy-related construction projects are now underway
in Trinidad, and some citizens fear that the country’s architectural
heritage might be damaged in the process.
They are hoping that the authorities would not get carried away
by the prospects of economic growth and allow more of the country’s
colonial buildings to be destroyed.
Over the last 30 years or so, many old classical residences and
other buildings have been demolished to make way for unappealing
concrete structures.
Several old Spanish-style buildings replete with balconies, which
would fit into the Madrid landscape, still exist in Port of Spain,
many of them now housing flower shops and other businesses.
Another casualty of economic progress is the security of ordinary
citizens who, before oil wealth began pouring into Trinidad, could
stroll around the Savannah in safety at any hour of the day and
night, while lovers could have embraced safely in the Botanical
Gardens.
But as the crime rate continues to soar, most people now stay away
from the Savannah after 7 p.m. or before 5 a.m.
The Savannah is bordered on the east by the mixed class suburb of
Belmont, on the south by the upper portion of Port of Spain, on
the west by the mainly upper class luxurious St. Clair suburb and
on the north by the middle-class suburbs of Cascade and St. Ann’s.
Over the years, the Savannah has lost some of its attractions.
One is the tramcar service which operated on the edge of the grounds
up to the late 1950s, when people could go around the Savannah for
the grand sum of two old pennies (four cents).
The Savannah was also the venue for exciting soccer matches between
club teams, including the middle-class Maple and Malvern clubs,
the more plebeian Colts club from Belmont and the upper-class clubs,
Shamrock and Casuals.
These soccer matches were virtual peaceful, class clashes and attracted
thousands of young visitors who would cheer on their teams.
Many of Trinidad’s leading sportsmen used the Savannah as
a training ground, including the Aleong brothers, Eddie and Andy,
who played football and cricket for Trinidad, and Charlie Davis
who played cricket for the West Indies.
The soccer clashes fizzled out in the 1960s and have been replaced
by spontaneous cricket and football matches organised by groups
of friends or business groups.
Another attraction that fizzled out in the late 1970s was horse
racing, which used to attract hundreds of people on race days, especially
weekends, to place bets on their favourites and just have a good
entertaining lime.
One old activity which still continues is kite-flying, and the Savannah
is still the venue for the annual Carnival masquerade celebrations,
the Panorama steelband competition and the popular Dimanche Gras
show on Carnival Sunday.
The Savannah is also still a haven for thousands of birds which
build nests on trees on the grounds.
They include aggressive black birds that sometimes swoop down on
unwary strollers, picking at their heads.
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