The Ducor Hotel was the 5-star jewel of West African hospitality when it opened in 1967. Now it sits, a strangely creepy and beautiful gargoyle perched on the top of Ducor hill, overlooking the city of Monrovia. As part of our walking tour of the city, guided by an LR-3 and a response volunteer, we got to climb up to the roof and explore.
The hotel closed in 1989 when tensions grew and threatened the political stability of the country. During the civil crisis, people moved from the slums into most of the rooms of the hotel, where they lived until the government kicked them out in 2007. Now there's a security guard and his entourage holding court where the concierge used to sit. The wide marble staircase that curls up from the lobby is green with algae and moss now. The diving board still extends out over the deep end of the swimming pool, but the pool itself has just a few feet of toxic brown sludge in the bottom. The stairs are dark and slippery and there are holes in the walls for gun barrels to peek out. But for all the violence and decay felt through the whole building, there is still a haunting, compelling beauty.
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| Waterside Market and Mesurado Bridge |
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| Broad Street and downtown |
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