Iconic Hotel Oloffson Reduced to Ashes Amid Haiti’s Escalating Gang Crisis

According to a report by NPR, Haiti’s legendary Hotel Oloffson, a historic 19th-century gingerbread mansion that once served as a sanctuary for artists, politicians, and global icons, has been destroyed in a fire sparked by ongoing gang warfare in Port-au-Prince.

For decades, the hotel stood as a symbol of Haitian resilience, surviving political upheavals, dictatorships, coups, and natural disasters. But this past weekend, it succumbed to Haiti’s deepening security crisis, particularly the violent clashes between police and gang coalitions in the Carrefour-Feuilles district.

“It’s where I spent the last 40 years of my life,” said Richard Morse, the Haitian-American musician and longtime hotel manager, in an emotional phone interview with NPR from his current home in Maine. “It’s where I met my wife. It’s where my children grew up. We celebrated life there. We danced there. It was a heartbeat.”

Morse wasn’t just the hotel’s caretaker—he was its soul. As the frontman of the Haitian roots band RAM, he performed iconic Thursday night concerts from the hotel’s famed wraparound balcony, turning the space into a cultural institution.

A Legacy Carved in History and Art

Constructed in the late 1800s, the Hotel Oloffson has had a multifaceted history—first as a presidential residence, then as a U.S. Marine hospital, and finally as an epicenter of Haitian culture. Its guest list reads like a page from international history: Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, and Haitian poets all found refuge there.

The hotel also made its mark in literature. British author Graham Greene drew inspiration from Oloffson for the fictional Hotel Trianon in The Comedians. This novel critiques the regime of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his Tonton Macoute militia. The novel was later adapted into a film starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who herself once stayed at the Oloffson.

A Victim of Haiti’s Urban Warfare

In recent months, the hotel found itself at the center of a battle zone. The powerful Viv Ansanm gang alliance, now controlling nearly 90% of Port-au-Prince, had turned once-thriving neighborhoods into contested territories. Morse revealed that he had been unable to access the hotel since April, despite making repeated attempts.

“I tried for months to go back,” he said. “But no one would let me near it.”

The fire that ultimately consumed the Oloffson erupted during a violent confrontation between gangs and law enforcement. It was one of several heritage sites reportedly destroyed during the surge in violence.

A Symbol of Hope, Even in Loss

Though the loss is deeply personal, Morse said he struggles with the attention the hotel’s destruction has received, especially while so many Haitians continue to endure unimaginable suffering.

“The hardest part is that so many are being killed and raped every day,” he told NPR. “If the attention on the Oloffson brings global awareness to the violence and injustice, then maybe it still has a role to play.”

Despite the devastation, Morse remains hopeful.

“We may not see things the way they were,” he said, “but the spirit isn’t gone. Haitians are such a powerful force—no matter how hard people try, they can’t erase that.”