Discover the beautiful world of the Bahamas islands


 

What to do in Bahamas

As any Bahamas vacation guide will tell you,first coloured person in the history of The
there are a wide variety of BahamasBahamas to win an election as the
attractions to choose from, should you getrepresentative for the Town of Nassau,
tired of splashing around at the beach. Amongwinning  seven  consecutive  elections.
the most popular Bahamas attractions are the
following:1851
CasinosIn 1851, Mr. Dillet was appointed to the post
of Post Master General, as well as Inspector
Isle of Capri, Royal Palm Way, Lucaya, Grandof the Police Force, at that time the highest
Bahamaranking position in the Force. Mr. Stephen
Dillet was also a leading figure in free
A full range of slot machines and tablemasonry, heading what is now known as the
games,  together  with  eleven  restaurants.Royal Victoria Lodge. He was also a vestryman
in Christ Church Cathedral, a community
BahamasRoyal Oasis, Sunrise Highway & Eastleader and successful businessman. At one
Mall  Drive,  Freeport,  Grand  Bahamapoint, Mr. Dillet also served as the Coroner
of  the  Bahamas.
Plenty of slot machines, table games and
restos  to  while  the  day  or  night  away.1880
Atlantis,  Casino  Drive,  Paradise  IslandMr. Stephen Dillet died in 1880 at Balcony
House. He bequeathed the property to his
Open  24  hours.  Slots  and  tables.wife, Charlotte, and his daughter, Charlotte
Augusta.
Breezes, West Bay Street, Cable Beach, New
Providence  Island1899
Slots  only,  restaurants,  disco.In 1899, Stephen Dillet’s widow
Charlotte died, leaving their daughter,
MuseumsCharlotte Augusta, as the sole owner of the
property.
Pompey Museum, Bay Street, Nassau, New
Providence  Island1913
Artefacts from the slavery era on the firstCharlotte Augusta Dillet died in 1913. The
floor with an art gallery featuring Bahamianhouse was willed to Mr. Alexander Martin
artists  on  the  second  floor.Cunningham, friend and nephew-in-law, of Mrs.
Charlotte  Dillet.
Balcony House is about 220 years old and is
the oldest existing wooden residential1943
building in The Bahamas. The balcony, from
which the House derives its name, overlooksMr. Cunningham died in 1943, and the property
Market St. (formerly Prison Lane), supportedsold as was his wish with the proceeds
by wooden knee braces--a signaturerepatriated  to  his  sister  in  London.
architectural feature of the 18th century
loyalists. The Central Bank of The Bahamas1944
acquired the House in 1985, and later
commenced its restoration. In conjunctionOn 31st January 1944, the property was
with the Department of National Archives, theconveyed to the Victory Hall Corporation. In
property was opened as the Balcony Housethe same year it was mortgaged for the sum of
Museum  in  1994.L1,000  to  Bahamas  Investments  Ltd.
The structure retains most of its original1947
construction with the foundation made of
concrete. The building itself was built fromSoon after the mortgage settlement in 1947,
American cedar weather boarding and thethe property was leased to the Hon. William
interior sealed with Abaco pine, generallyMaxwell Aitken, Baron of Beaverbrook &
known as Tongue and Groove or T and G. TheCherkley. The property was later sold to Mrs.
concrete foundation raises the building offMarie Josephine Bryce, a wealthy American
of the ground, done purposefully to allow forwoman and major shareholder in the chain of A
better ventilation. Additionally the&  P  foodstores  in  the  U.S.A.
House’s open-joist ceiling was
designed especially to keep the woodMrs. Bryce hired Grace Richards Inc., a New
construction  dry.York interior design firm, to redesign the
interior of the House. By the mid 1970s, Mrs.
The structure boasts a mahogany staircase,Bryce had stopped visiting The Bahamas,
reportedly salvaged from a wrecked ship. Aleaving the House in care of her maid, Mrs.
number of the original accessory componentsRosalie  Armbrister.
are still in place today. Among them, are the
original windows, special ‘L’1985
shaped door hinges--designed to prevent doors
from leaning or ‘one-sidedness’,In 1985, the Central Bank of The Bahamas
doorknobs, locks and keys. Even the actualacquired  Balcony  House  and  its  property.
hooks, which hoisted the hammock that once
adorned the celebrated balcony, still remain.1992
On the grounds an old slave kitchen stands,
with its original fire hearth still in tact.The Ministry of Public Works began
The horse’s stable was remodelled intorestoration of the property, with the costs
what is now the Museum’s receptionfully underwritten by the Central Bank of The
area.Bahamas.
Pink in colour with white trimming, there is1994
about 200 years of paint on the House, which
was originally green. The building’sThe Central Bank of the Bahamas partnered
colonial style wooden shutters match thewith the Department of National Archives,
6-over-6 and 9-over-9-sash windows, includingopened Balcony House as a The Balcony House
the Georgian style windows of the masterMuseum  in  1994.
bedroom. The main door, with its open French
style, features transient glassBimini  Museum, King’s Highway, Bimini
panes--designed especially to capture the
sunlight.Find out how the phrase “the real
McCoy” was born. Features artefacts
Since the late eighteenth century, when it isfrom Prohibition at the time when Bimini was
believed that Balcony House was first built,a  major  smuggling  centre.
the property changed ownership a number of
times.  A  brief history is chronicled below:Balcony House, Market Street, Nassau, New
Providence  Island
1775-1783
Perfectly restored by the Central Bank of the
The years 1775 - 1783 saw the coming of a newBahamas, the house was built in the
immigrant group to the Bahamas, theeighteenth century and was inhabited by the
loyalists. It was also about this time, weBahamas’ first black government
believe, that this structure, which today weofficial  in  the  nineteenth  century.
refer  to  as Balcony House, was constructed.
Paradise Island, Tunnel Under AquariumOpen
1788Mic  Night
The 1788 plan of Nassau identifies lotClub Caribe, Churchill Beach in Mather Town,
numbers 14 & 15, with a structure on it; theFreeport,  Grand  Bahama
property, at that time, was owned by a Mrs.
Mary Hardy who lived there with her husband,On the last Saturday of every month, drop by
Dr. William Hardy, and their three daughters,to  enjoy  music  and  poetry.
Sarah,  Cicely  and  Ann.
Natural  wonders
1795
Underwater  Canyons,  Chub  Cay, Berry Island
A copy of Mrs. Hardy's will, dated 1795,
shows that she left the property to her threeSpectacular  natural  phenomena.
daughters  who  were all married at the time.
Eel  garden,  Chub  Cay,  Berry  Island
1816
Dive through underwater caverns and tunnels
In 1816, the property was sold by auction, byin the Canyons, or check out the eels, parrot
Provost Marshall, Mr. William Baliss, to Mrs.fish  and  stingrays  in  the  Eel  Garden.
Isabella Deane and Mr. Roger Moore who later
married  and  took  up  residence.Lost City of Atlantis underwater stone
formation,  Bimini
1841
Bahamas attractions lend themselves to
In 1841, however, Mrs. Isabella Deane-Mooremythology of all kinds. This one may be the
and her husband, Roger Moore, sold the housenamesake of the massive resort on Paradise
to Mr. Stephen Dillet, a native of Haiti whoIsland.
came to the Bahamas with his mother, Hester
Argo, and his two brothers. The son ofFlamingo Sanctuary, Wilson Lake, Great Inagua
reputed French Army officer, Ettienne Dillet,
Stephen made a great impact on BahamianSee one of the largest flocks of flamingos in
History. In 1833, Stephen Dillet became thethe Caribbean on a beautiful nature reserve.



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