Built Heritage

Prince’s Building

The Prince’s Building was the premiere entertainment space in the city of Port of Spain during the late nineteenth century. It was situated on a site known as the Little Savannah at the top of Frederick Street. The building was constructed in 1861 in anticipation of the visit of Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh.

At the time no place was considered suitable enough to entertain such a distinguished visitor. The site was chosen for the erection of a building to comprise a ball and reception room. Unfortunately the Duke never came due to the sudden death of his father, but the building went on to be a venue for many events and served a variety of purposes throughout its existence.

The Prince’s Building holds a unique place in Trinidad and Tobago’s past; it has been the site of many historical and cultural events that shaped both the physical and social landscape of Port of Spain.

It is truly significant that the location would return to its roots as an artistic venue as the new home of the National Academy for the Performing Arts. Thus, the space is being brought back to life as a cultural space for the enjoyment of a new generation.

Stollmeyer Castle

“The Stollmeyer Family in early centuries lived in Venice. Out of Venice, they came to Ulm on the Danube, and continued there until my grandfather, Conrad Frederick, born in 1813, at the age of 23 went to the U.S.A. There in the town of Philadelphia he married my grandmother whose name was Anna Snyder, and whose forebears came from Holland or Germany. My grandfather … was offered the management of a railway to be laid and operated in Trinidad. He accepted feeling that others might wish to go out to the West Indies and Venezuela…” Excerpts from the Diary of Charles Conrad Stollmeyer