Queens Park South East, Trinidad and Tobago

Queens Park South East, Trinidad and Tobago

The southeastern and southern ends

The National Museum & Art Gallery

A stroll around the Savannah’s perimeter, starting from the top of Frederick Street at its southeastern end, takes you past the National Museum on your left. Among its collections are paintings by Trinidad’s first major artist, Michel-Jean Cazabon (1813-88), and exhibitions of Carnival arts, natural history, life during World War II, and the energy industry. The national art collection on the upper floor features work by leading local artists.

Memorial Park

Opposite the National Museum, the Park’s cenotaph is in honour of nationals who served and died in military service. There’s an annual wreath-laying ceremony on Remembrance Day.

The National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA)

This new building, opened in November 2009 for the Summit of the Americas, houses a 1,200 seat main auditorium (the Aldwyn Roberts, Lord Kitchener Auditorium); with additional stages, practice halls and teaching rooms in the University of Trinidad & Tobago (UTT) part of the building. 

As the road begins heading west past the huge NAPA compound, the foreign ministry can be seen on the left, sited in one of the city’s finest old houses. You then pass the modern regional headquarters of British Petroleum (bpTT), and the Anglican parish Church of All Saints (1845).

Knowsley House

Occupying the block between Chancery Lane, Dundonald Street and Albion Lane, this is another heritage building which has been beautifully restored within recent years (2011). Originally designed and built in 1904 by Taylor & Gillies for William Gordon, its structure features imported yellow bricks and hand hewn local limestone, with Italian marble on the ground floor veranda, plaster of Paris on the ground floor ceilings, and a magnificent interior staircase built from Guyanese purple heart wood. In June 1956, Kowsley was purchased by the government of Trinidad and Tobago for use as offices for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Author: L.C

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