“City of Wooden Houses: Georgetown, Guyana” by Compton Davis

The city’s architecture is essentially colonial, moulded by the French, Dutch, British and Spanish during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Georgetown, the capital of Guyana, on the northeast coast of South America, has been described as ‘the Venice of the West Indies’, and its elegant canals and bridges, lush tropical vegetation and handsome buildings make it a place of great beauty. The city’s architecture is essentially colonial, having been moulded by the French, Dutch, British and Spanish during the 18th and 19th centuries. Compton Davis’s book documents these fascinating buildings, realized largely in wood rather than the more durable brick and stone; indeed, some houses have disappeared — lost to fire, demolition or simply neglect — since they were photographed. Davis, an architect, begins by giving a brief history of Georgetown itself, describing the influences that resulted in its charming and characteristic architecture, and explaining the various house types that are to be found in the city. The main part of the book is organized geographically, dividing the city into its various districts and describing the notable houses to be found in each. Photographs of the buildings and their particular features are accompanied by short descriptive and historical texts. This beautiful book, lovingly photographed and researched over several decades, will appeal to architecture lovers everywhere, as well as to those interested in colonial and South American history, and that of building in wood.

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