Elegantly built, intricately decorated, uniquely Haitian architectural homes. These beauties are unique to Haiti and often ornately detailed with steep roofs, and magnificent color combinations.
Gingerbread Brown & Yellow (2003) by Amerlin DelinoisHaiti Film Institute
The Gingerbread Era
Gingerbread houses are turn-of-the century elegant homes detailed with wood and intricate latticework. Haitian painters often depict these beauties in their artwork.
Artist Amerlin Delinois in his series of paintings on Gingerbread houses pays particular attention to the details associated with the attire and landscape of the period.
Gingerbread All Around
Haitian "Gingerbread" houses are primarily located in Port-Au-Prince, but are also located in other cities in Haiti, including Jérémie, Jacmel, and Cap-Haïtien.
French Style in Haiti
The gingerbread style is said to have begun in 1881 with the Haitian National Palace. In 1895, three young Haitians—Georges Baussan, Léon Mathon, and Joseph-Eugène Maximilien—traveled to Paris to study architecture, learned about nascent architecture and adjusted the style to Haiti's climate and style.
The Upper Crust
Gingerbread houses were primarily occupied by Haiti's most affluent residents with many housing former Haitian Presidents. During the 1950's and 60's some were seasonal residences of the likes of Truman Capote, Graham Greene and Katherine Dunham.
Withstanding the Test of Time
In addition to the ornate and unique architecture of Gingerbread Houses, they are surprisingly stable. Most of these houses have withstood decades of natural disasters including earthquakes. Traditional Haitian construction includes braced timber framing with masonry infills. This type of construction fares much better than cement in earthquakes.
Saving Gingerbread Houses
Within the past decade international efforts have been made to preserve Haiti's gingerbread houses.
Gingerbread White (2003) by Amerlin DelinoisHaiti Film Institute
The World Monuments Fund (WMF), has produced preservation manuals with specific recommendations for maintaining the structures.
Gingerbread House - The House of Dufour (2021) by Garry LaurentHaiti Film Institute
Through the beauty and detail found in these physical structures, they are often the home of art exhibits and galleries.
Gingerbread paintings by artist Amerlin Delinois.
Videos courtesy of CIDICHA.
