The Gingerbread is a type of house built in Haiti in the second half of the 19th century. The name will appear in the 1950s among American tourists...

This type of house was primarily reserved for the elite. They are inspired by the National Palace built under President Lysius Salomon in 1881.

Gingerbread houses have high ceilings. They have large balconies and spacious living rooms. They are made of wood, brick and even concrete. There are many decorations in these houses, particularly with the patterns carved in the wood. It should be noted, however, that the description given here is not absolute. For example, there are Gingerbread houses that are not too big, elsewhere not only the urban elite, but also the peasants managed to imitate this style of house.

It is true that Gingerbread is found in many places in the country, but the greatest concentration of Gingerbread is in Port-au-Prince: Lalue, Bois-Verna, Turgeau, Pacot, Babiolò, Kwadepre and "bas peuchose".

In 2015, in these areas alone, a study (Columbia University, UEH, FOKAL, etc.) identified 356 despite everything that was destroyed during the earthquake of January 12, 2010.

Even if the Gingerbread was influenced by foreign architecture, it is a type of Haitian architecture which appeared under the influence of architects such as George Baussan, Léon Mathon, Joseph-Eugène Maximilien, to ne quote them.

Institute for the Protection of National Heritage (ISPAN)/ iciHaiti