October - December 2017 •
The Lion King
• 37
Photo Credit: Flickr/ Mark Fischer
COUNTRY FOCUS
improving its infrastructure and historic
sites. The newly dedicated National
museum, the Kpatawe waterfall, the
blue lake, the Sapo National Park, the
beautiful Marshall Beaches as well as
the laid-back Robertsport, known for
its strong surf and perfectly white sand,
are just few of Liberia’s Natural tourism
attractions.
The swimming pool area of the former
Ducor Palace Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia.
By Mark Fischer
The Ducor Palace Hotel in Monrovia was the
first international-class hotel constructed
in Liberia, and was for many years one of
the few five-star hotels in all of Africa. It had
three hundred rooms, a pool, tennis courts,
and a French restaurant and was popular
with tourists and businesspeople from Africa
and around the world. It sits on Ducor Hill
and overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and the
Saint Paul River.
The hotel closed in 1989, just before the
First Liberian Civil War. The building was
severely damaged by the violence of the war
and the looting that occurred afterwards.
During and after the war, displaced resi-
dents of many of Monrovia’s slums began to
occupy the hotel’s empty rooms. In 2007, the
Liberian Ministry of Justice began to evict
the Ducor Hotel’s residents.
The building is open today and visitors can
walk throughout the grounds and building.
It is a popular place for Monrovia residents
to come and enjoy the panoramic view of
the city, especially for special occasions like
Christmas, New Year, and Independence
Day.
