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In Liberia, abandoned hotel stands as symbol of haunted past
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A man looks out over the city from an old bedroom window in the dilapidated Ducor hotel in Monrovia on November 18, 2021. (AFP/John Wessels)
T
owering above Liberia's ramshackle capital Monrovia stands a hotel that once symbolised an African dream yet today lies in ruins, a legacy of brutal conflict.
When it opened its doors in 1960, the Ducor was one of the only five-star hotels in Africa, boasting a night club and air-conditioned rooms, according to travel guides.
At its height, it hosted VIPs such as former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie. Guests would lounge by the swimming pool, sipping cocktails and watching the sun set over the Atlantic.
But the Ducor shut in 1989 at the outbreak of back-to-back civil wars which ran from 1989-1997 and from 1999-2003, and swiftly fell into disrepair.
Today, little of Monrovia bears the visible marks of war, but the Ducor's decaying hulk stands as a reminder of the conflict that killed over 250,000 people.
The hotel lies in limbo, and even who owns it seems unclear.
The ruin, atop one of the city's highest hills, looms over Monrovia's downtown and the densely populated West Point slum.
