Port-au-Prince, Haiti

Earthquake 2010

It is a site symbolic of the state, and maybe, of its political status quo. Adler G.

The most recent National Palace was the fourth to be built on this site and was designed by Haitian architect Georges Baussan and opened in 1920. It was the official residence for the presidents of Haiti and their families. The concrete building was severely damaged in the devastating 2010 earthquake; the president and his family were elsewhere at the time. The ruins of the building were demolished in 2012 under the Martelly administration. Plans to rebuild the palace were announced by President Jovenel Moise in 2017. In 2020, the architecture firm Raco Deco was announced to have won the competition for the design of the new palace. The painting is based on an uncredited photograph from Belpoz.com.