CULTURAL OFFICIALS are calling it the “Miracle of Queen’s Park”.
After years of talk about upgraded facilities for Steel Shed, the once predominately steel structure is now causing people to stop and stare.
The Steel Shed is a far cry from what it used to be. A DAILY NATION team visited the facility yesterday when workmen had just finished the floors and were adding final touches in time for the handover of keys to the National Cultural Foundation (NCF), which is responsible for the facility, early next week.
Crews from Blue Star Construction and consultants from Caribbean Design Architects and Engineers laboured for the past five months to get the Steel Shed, which was closed in 2003, up and running again.
This $1.3 million project was spearheaded by former Minster of Culture Steve Blackett.
The roof was replaced by a steel roof, which has been insulated with a special kind of plywood sheeting to eliminate the stifling heat, which was a problem in the past, and also to enhance the acoustics.
There is also a new stage, new metal windows on both sides for cross ventilation, newly outfitted bathrooms, refurbished box office and an enclosed entrance foyer, which is a new feature to the facility.
Now that there is seemingly more wall to the Steel Shed than steel, the DAILY NATION asked a source close to the project whether the name Steel Shed would remain, but mum was the word.
It is understood that the names of Janice Millington and El Verno Del Congo were bandied about under a previous administration at the NCF.
Chief executive officer of the NCF, Dr Donna Hunte-Cox, said she had not yet toured the upgraded facility, but expressed pleasure that it was almost ready for handover, given the delays and setbacks. (YB)
