Gone up in smoke' Charred ruins of famed Haiti hotel a symbol of city on the verge of collapse

The Hotel Oloffson, in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, once welcomed celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger and Graham Greene.

- Etienne Côté-Paluck Natricia Duncan

The Hotel Oloffson, in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, once welcomed celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Mick Jagger and Graham Greene. A magnet for the world's rich and famous in the 1960s and 70s, it was reborn in the 80s as a hub for Vodou musicians and a refuge for foreign correspondents.

Two weeks ago, it was set ablaze in what local media described as retaliation by armed gangs after a police operation in its vicinity.

For many, its ruins are a stark and sobering symbol of the state of a capital city on the verge of collapse, and a sign that a vibrant culture may be fading as criminal groups continue their reign of terror.

The 1887 mansion, was built in the ornate "gingerbread" style. Watching the white wooden fretwork - often likened to lace - that adorned the balconies reduced to ashes, has been tough for former patrons, who were enchanted by its dreamlike, otherworldly charm.

Georges Michel, a Haitian and legal scholar, said: "It was an extraordinary place, beyond time and space." He would stop by, in the evening, on his way home. "After two or three beers, I'd sometimes have dinner. I'd meet people. It was Haitian. It was home."

Some people have started to dream of rebuilding the Oloffson, when the embattled city returns to a level of normality. But they are unable to make solid plans as the Caribbean nation teeters dangerously toward a "point of no return" - a warning that UN officials have expressed as thousands of people are killed.