Marché en Fer ''or'' Marché de Fer ( en, Iron Market) also known as the ''Marché Hyppolite'' and the ''Marché Vallières'' is a public market in

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 ...

’s capital, Port‑au‑Prince. It was damaged by fire in 2008 and destroyed in the

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

, but was restored. In February 2018 it burned again, with one of the two halls being destroyed.

History

The ' is a metal edifice that was built in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

for a railway station in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

. When that plan was canceled, Haitian president

Florvil Hyppolite Louis Mondestin Florvil Hyppolite (26 May 1828 – 24 March 1896) was a Haitian general and politician who served as the President of Haiti from 17 October 1889 to 24 March 1896. Early life and career Hyppolite was born in 1827 at Cap-Haïtien ...

purchased it and had it brought to Haiti in 1891. The market consists of two iron‑framed halls, each, connected by a gate with four domed towers and with a clock on the gate’s façade. The entire structure is painted red, with green accents. The market has burned several times; after a fire in 2008 it was abandoned. It was then completely destroyed by the

. Designated as a "historical heritage" by the ', it was rebuilt and reopened a year after the earthquake, with the financial support Irishman Denis O'Brien, owner of the mobile phone company

Digicel Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide. Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...

, who invested US$12million. Bricks recovered from buildings damaged in the earthquake were reused in reconstruction and the same French corporation that manufactured the original roof tiles made the replacements. The restored market was reopened in 2011 by

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, former President of the United States. On 13 February 2018, another fire, thought to have started in a rubbish container, destroyed one of the two halls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marche en Fer Buildings and structures in Port-au-Prince Tourist attractions in Port-au-Prince Economy of Port-au-Prince