By Tanya Batson-Savage, Staff Reporter 
Historic Devon House in Kingston, which is poised for greater glory. - File
FOR YEARS, Devon House on Hope Road in St. Andrew has provided a quiet spot in the capital to indulge in some icy, guilty pleasures, whether on a Sunday afternoon or after work. As such, the name is possibly irrevocably linked to ice cream in the Jamaican psyche.
However, the Devon House Development Company Limited (DHDC), which now manages the site, intends to jockey the house and its grounds to the forefront of what will hopefully become a booming heritage tourism industry in Kingston.
As a part of this effort, Devon House is trying to improve its position as a national monument.
As garish skeletons of varying buildings moan the loss of Kingston's beauty, the company is trying to restore their precious charge to its former glory.
According to Janice Francis Lindsay, the promotions co-ordinator with DHDC, the restoration cost (before the severe bout of inflation wracking the country) was estimated at $64 million.
The company had already spent an estimated $13 million to restore the shops which had been gutted by fire in March of last year, and build a suite of bathrooms.
HERITAGE TOURISM
Panmedia.com.jm features a story on heritage tourism in Jamaica. The article states that heritage tourism can boost the island's tourist arrivals by 40 per cent.
The article, pointing to the advantages of Falmouth, Trelawny as a heritage site, says the town has the largest collection of Georgian architecture in the Caribbean. Falmouth. which had risen to prominence when sugar was king, began to decline when Montego Bay, St. James, became a more attractive harbour, the article stated.
Although Kingston cannot evidently give the same claim to Georgian fame, the preservation of old architecture is important to how the city looks and what it has to offer as parts of its heritage.
As such, Devon House's development, marks one of the positive strides Kingston is making if all the talk about the development of heritage tourism is intended to be more than mere words in the wind.
At numerous launches of varying cultural events last year, it was pointed out that Kingston has the possibility of becoming the Caribbean's culture capital.
Of course, Kingston, is in need of a face-lift of Michael Jacksonian proportions. However, unlike with the gloved wonder, the intention will be to restore it to its natural beauty, rather than trying to create an unnaturally fitting mask.
Rather than a mark of Jamaica's cultural impact on the world, Downtown Kingston too often resembles that 'damn spot' which reflects murdered possibility.
POLICY
According to the Jampro website, investjamaica.com, the government's tourism policy is intended to encourage and develop heritage tourism in an attempt to diversify Jamaica's tourism product.
'The government believes that the future of the industry is inextricably linked to our ability to harness and develop the country's natural environment, as well as its rich and dynamic culture. The policy is to develop these gifts, as well as to package and promote them in a manner that maximises their inherent economic potential while maintaining their integrity. In this regard, emphasis will be placed on the people and their heritage, the attributes that make Jamaica unique,' the article on government policy reads.
The site goes on to declare that the government intends to pursue these goals by developing Spanish Town, St. Catherine; Falmouth, Trelawny; and Port Royal, Kingston, sas well as great houses and theme parks across the island.
Still, Spanish Town continues to literally float in its own filth, while Port Royal's development remains a well-buried treasure.
Kingston was not named as one of the spots for such development. However, Kingston, Spanish Town and Port Royal act as something of a triumvirate of heritage.
Interestingly, when selling Kingston, many tourist brochures/articles often speak to the attractions found in Spanish Town and Port Royal. Of course, this could suggest by omission that Kingston has nothing much to offer.
It is in this respect that the development of institutions such as Devon House and The Ward Theatre become critical. This year has been declared the 'Year of The Ward' and there are currently fund-raising efforts underway to undertake the strenuous but imperative task of restoring the 91-year-old theatre.
The Devon House Development Company intends to launch its fund-raising campaign in October.
The premier event, a black-tie dinner costing a mouth-filling $6000.00 per person, will attempt to recapture the house's former opulence.
DINNER
Dinner, set for October 2, and dubbed 'Heritage Feast', will feature a six-course meal created by chefs from across the island. Chefs from Norma's on The Terrace (Kingston), The Courtleigh (Kingston) and Jamaica Inn (Ocho Rios) have been confirmed while dessert will be provided by Future Bakery (Ocho Rios).
The evening will also feature live music from the Sonny Bradshaw and the Jamaica Big Band, while Wayne Armond will lead the music presentation during the cocktail hour.
Works by artists including Christopher Gonzalez, Susan Alexander, Fitz and Norma Harrack and Stanford Watson will be on sale.
Evidently, this dinner will not be palatable to all pockets, and Francis-Lindsay assures that other, more generally affordable, events will also be planned.
However, other than good ice cream, what has Devon House to offer by way of heritage tourism?
Francis-Lindsay says that the company will stage festivals and exhibitions which explore and promote Jamaica's culture. According to Francis-Lindsay, the creative products of places such as Trench Town and August Town will be showcased.
Of course, Devon House has more than ice cream as its claim to fame. The house was built by millionaire George Steibel (Jamaica's first black millionaire) in 1881 and became a part of what was dubbed millionaire's corner, due to three impressive great houses in the area.
Devon House is only one of many buildings which are valuable to the image of Kingston and the possibility of a heritage tourism project. Many of these, such as a crumbling house in the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation depot in Half Way Tree, which Historic Jamaica From the Air describes as 'a very charming small example' of old architecture before concrete became king.
Likewise, preserving our architecture is only a tiny step toward making Kingston viable for heritage tourism. We have several giant steps left to go.
