The Hotel Oloffson is an

inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

in central

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. Built in the late 19th century as a private home, it was turned into a hotel in 1935, and became known for the many artists and celebrities who stayed there. The hotel was the real-life inspiration for the fictional Hotel Trianon in

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

novel '' The Comedians''.

History

The hotel was constructed in the late 19th century as a private home for the Sam family. Its main structure is a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

gingerbread mansion set in a lush tropical garden. The head of a prestigious and influential family in Port-au-Prince,

Tirésias Simon Sam Paul Tirésias Augustin Simon Sam (May 15, 1835 – May 11, 1916) was the President of Haiti from 31 March 1896 to 12 May 1902. He resigned the presidency just before completing his six-year term. Biography Born in the year 1835, Tirésias Sim ...

was president of Haiti from 1896 to 1902. The mansion was built by Tirésias's son, Demosthenes Simon Sam. The Sams lived in the mansion until 1915, when their cousin

Vilbrun Guillaume Sam Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam (4 March 1859 – 28 July 1915) was President of Haiti from 4 March to 27 July 1915, when he was assassinated. He was a cousin of Tirésias Simon Sam, Haiti's president from 1896 to 1902. Early life and education C ...

was selected from among a group of powerful politicians to assume the post of president, the fifth president in five years. Guillaume would be president for a scant five months. Sam had acted harshly against his political opponents, particularly the better educated and wealthier mulatto population. The epitome of his repressive measures came on July 27, 1915, when he ordered the execution of 167 political prisoners, including former president

Oreste Zamor Emmanuel Oreste Zamor (1861–1915) was a Haitian general and politician who served as the president of Haiti in 1914. Biography During the Haitian civil war of 1912, Oreste Zamor and his brother Charles, both generals, supported Caimito R ...

, who was being held in a Port-au-Prince jail. This infuriated the population, which rose up against Sam's government as soon as news of the executions reached them. Sam fled to the French embassy, where he received asylum before being torn to pieces by an

angry mob Mob rule or ochlocracy ( el, ὀχλοκρατία, translit=okhlokratía; la, ochlocratia) is the rule of government by a mob or mass of people and the intimidation of legitimate authorities. Insofar as it represents a pejorative for majorit ...

.Roman, Monica (2001)
"Graham Greene Would Still Adore This Hotel"
''

Business Week ''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...

''. May 7, 2001.

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United State ...

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

, concerned that the Haitian government might be seized by

Rosalvo Bobo Pierre François Joseph Benoit Rosalvo Bobo (1874–1929), known as Rosalvo Bobo, was a Haitian politician, and a leader of the rebel faction known as the Cacos. In March of 1915 he started and led a rebellion against the government of Preside ...

, who was thought to be sympathetic to the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, ordered the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

to seize Port-au-Prince. The occupation would eventually extend to the entire nation of Haiti. The Sam mansion was used as a US military hospital for the duration of the occupation.Secom (2002)
"Links"
. Retrieved May 1, 2006. In 1935, when the occupation ended, the mansion was leased to Werner Gustav Oloffson, a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

sea captain from Germany, who converted the property into a hotel with his wife Margot and two sons Olaf and Egon. In the 1950s, Roger Coster, a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

photographer, assumed the lease on the hotel and ran it with his Haitian wife, Laura. The hotel came to be known as the "

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

of the Tropics", attracting actors, writers, and artists. Some of the suites in the hotel were named after the artists and writers who frequented the hotel, including

, James Jones,

Charles Addams Charles Samuel Addams (January 7, 1912 – September 29, 1988) was an American cartoonist known for his darkly humorous and macabre characters, signing the cartoons as Chas Addams. Some of his recurring characters became known as the Addams Fa ...

, and Sir

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

.Vergane Glorie Erelijst (2003
"Hotels"
Retrieved May 1, 2006. Port au Prince1

A New York native, Al Seitz, acquired the hotel lease in 1960. During the 1970s and early 1980s, the hotel enjoyed a brief period of fame and good fortune. Celebrities such as

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

were regular guests, and like Coster before him, Seitz named favorite rooms at the hotel after the celebrity guests. After Al Seitz died in 1982, his widow, the former Suzanne Laury, continued to operate it. As the grip of Duvalierism closed over the country, however, the foreign tourist trade dried up. The hotel survived by serving as the desired residence for foreign reporters and foreign aid workers who needed secure lodging in the center of town. In 1987, with the help of his half-brother Jean Max Sam, Richard A. Morse signed a 15-year lease to manage the Hotel Oloffson, then in near-ruins after the final years of Duvalierism. In restoring the hotel business, Morse hired a local folkloric dance troupe and slowly converted it into a ''

mizik rasin Rasin, also known as Haitian roots music, is a musical style that began in Haiti in the 1970s when musicians began combining elements of traditional Haitian Vodou ceremonial and folkloric music with various musical styles. The late 20th century ...

'' band. Richard Morse would become the songwriter and lead male vocalist and the name of the band,

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * Ra ...

, comes from his initials. The band became famous for their protest music during the

Raoul Cédras Joseph Raoul Cédras (born July 9, 1949) is a Haitian former military officer who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Haiti from 1991 to 1994. Background A mulatto, Cédras was educated in the United States and was a member of the U.S.-trained ''Leop ...

military dictatorship from 1991 to 1994. Throughout the political upheaval of Haiti in the 1990s, RAM's regular Thursday evening performance at the hotel became one of the few regular social events in Port-au-Prince in which individuals of various political positions and allegiances could congregate. Regular attendees of the performances included foreign guests at the hotel, members of the military, paramilitary ''attachés'' and former ''

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute ( ht, Tonton Makout) or simply the Macoute was a special operations unit within the Haitian paramilitary force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1970 the militia was renamed the ' (VSN, Volunteer ...

s'', members of the press, diplomats, foreign aid workers, artists, and businessmen. Attendees included both black Haitians and members of the nation's less populous racial groups. During the January 12, 2010, earthquake, the Hotel Oloffson was damaged. US photographer Tequila Minsky who was also staying in the Oloffson, told the New York Times that a wall at the front of the Hotel Oloffson had fallen, killing a passer-by, and that several neighboring buildings had collapsed. Richard Morse, using the social networking site

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

, was a major source of news coming out of the disaster area in the early hours. In a Twitter post from January 12, he states "Our guests are sitting out in the driveway.. no serious damage here at the Oloffson but many large buildings nearby have collapsed." The hotel was one of Port-au-Prince's only hotels left standing and the worldwide media subsequently decamped to the hotel and its grounds. The hotel is open, continues to operate, and RAM continues to play their regular Thursday night show. Port au Prince - hotel Olofson

Popular culture

*The Hotel Oloffson was the inspiration for the fictional Hotel Trianon in

's 1966 novel about Duvalierist Haiti, '' The Comedians''. Greene, Graham (1966). '' The Comedians''. New York, New York:

Penguin Classics Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the Western ...

; Reissue edition (November 5, 1991). . *''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' cartoonist

, reportedly modeled his trademark haunted houses cartoons on "the Oloffson’s tropo-Gothic gingerbread façade." Shacochis, Bob (2004)
"Travel Feature: Haiti"
. ''New York Travel''. April 26, 2004. Retrieved May 1, 2006. *The Hotel Oloffson is featured in

Max Hardberger Florian Max Hardberger (born November 19, 1948) is an American adventurer, ship captain, aviator, ship recovery specialist, admiralty lawyer and author of maritime fiction and non-fiction adventures. Education Hardberger received his high sch ...

's auto-biography ''SEIZED! A Sea Captain's Adventures Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World's Most Troubled Waters.''Hardberger, Max
''Seized: A Sea Captain's Adventures Battling Scoundrels and Pirates While Recovering Stolen Ships in the World's Most Troubled Waters''
Broadway Books, 2010 *In 2011, the Hotel Oloffson was featured prominently in an episode of

Anthony Bourdain Anthony Michael Bourdain (; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian who starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. Bourdai ...

's travel television show '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations''. *The Hotel Oloffson appears in the

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

novel ''

Deadeye Dick ''Deadeye Dick'' is a novel by Kurt Vonnegut originally published in 1982. Plot summary The novel's main character, Rudy Waltz, or "Deadeye Dick", commits accidental manslaughter as a child when he shoots a gun out of a window and fatally strike ...

''. * The hotel appears throughout

Bob Shacochis Bob Shacochis (born September 9, 1951) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary journalist. He teaches creative writing at Florida State University. Writing career Shacochis was born in Pennsylvania, but grew up in the Washingt ...

's novel ''The Woman Who Lost Her Soul''.Wilentz, Amy (2013)
"The Unquiet Americans: Bob Shacochis's 'Woman Who Lost Her Soul.'"
''New York Times.'' September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2016.

References

;Cited References ;General References * Shacochis, Bob (1999). ''The Immaculate Invasion''. New York, New York:

Penguin Publishing Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initiall ...

. . *

Michael Deibert Michael Deibert (born 1973) is an American journalist, author and researcher at the Centro de Estudos Internacionais at the Instituto Universitário de Lisboa. Biography Deibert was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and is a graduate of Bard ...

. ''Notes from the Last Testament: The Struggle for Haiti''.

Seven Stories Press Seven Stories Press is an independent American publishing company. Based in New York City, the company was founded by Dan Simon in 1995, after establishing Four Walls Eight Windows in 1984 as an imprint at Writers and Readers, and then incorpora ...

, New York, 2005. .

External links

Hotel Oloffson Official Site
by Karl Grobl
"Hope and Lodging in Port-au-Prince: The Oloffson is a magnet for intellectuals, writers and the criminally inclined. Lisa Wixon reveals why it offers hope for Haiti's future.""La dérive douce d'un enfant de Petit Goâve"
documentary film about Haitian writer Dany Laferrère was partially filmed at the hotel.
FaceBook Fan Page / Hotel Oloffson
{{coord, 18, 31, 46, N, 72, 20, 15, W, region:HT_source:kolossus-dawiki, display=title Hotels in Haiti

Hotel Oloffson The Hotel Oloffson is an inn in central Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Built in the late 19th century as a private home, it was turned into a hotel in 1935, and became known for the many artists and celebrities who stayed there. The hotel was the real- ...

Hotels established in 1935

19th-century architecture