Representatives from different sectors in Puerto Plata have expressed their concern at the advanced deterioration of the homes from the Victorian period, which are one of the main tourist attractions of the city. According to historian Germán Camarena Gómez, there only remain 187 of around 375 Victorian homes that were counted as part of an inventory in 1975, by real estate developers José Augusto Puig Ortiz and Robert Gamble.
Camarena called on the authorities to put together a restoration plan for these buildings, many of which are in such a poor condition they could collapse and injure people. Julio Almonte, Deputy Minister of Tourism for the North Coast said that those buildings which disappeared had been abandoned by their owners because they were collapsing and new modern buildings were erected in their place. He said that the Ministry of Tourism, along with the City Hall authorities would carry out a survey to see how many homes needed repair.
These old buildings that are protected by law are located in the streets of Juan Bosch, Beller, Margarita Mears, Sánchez, José Ramón López, San Felipe, Villa Nueva and others.
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Diario Libre
11 September 2018
