Memories of Casa de Campo: Mysterious La Romana

This post is also available in: Spanish

In this week’s ‘Memories of casa de Campo’ post our wonderful weekly writer Carol Burke brings us photos and stories of down-town La Romana, which has now changed totally – many of the places Carol talks about have now disappeared altogether! For those of you who knew La Romana in the 1980’s this is a real walk down memory lane!

All architecture is shelter, all great architecture is the design of space that contains, cuddles, exalts, or stimulates the persons in that space. — Philip Johnson
The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization. – Frank Lloyd Wright

La Romana was on the main road to Casa de Campo. It was only two miles from the Casa de Campo entrance to the Rio Dulce bridge at La Romana.

Crossing the River to La Romana

Every week I would drive to La Romana to shop at the Farmacia, the Ferreteria, H-M Grocery, and other places.

There were many interesting buildings and places in La Romana.

The La Romana car wash was one of them. One would leave the car for a wash and wax, and sit at a table under the bright orange canopy for a snack and a Presidente or soda pop until the car was clean.

Detailing and a Drink at the La Romana Car Wash

I remember parallel parking on a La Romana street, near downtown, one afternoon. People were staring at me and I didn’t know why until I got out of the car and found that there was a six-foot-deep sink-hole in the pavement near the curb and I had missed going into it by just a few inches. Whew!

Main Street Downtown

There was the building where the Dominican Watchman congregated.

Watchmen

The houses in La Romana were built in many different styles and years. Some were large substantial family homes made from stone and paneled with beautiful wood inside.

Lovely Stone House

Some were traditional houses with a big shady front porch.

Shady Porch House

Some of the houses had privacy landscaping with hedges and trees,

Privacy Landscaping in Garden

while other houses had an open-door design.

House with Open-Door

There were beautiful homes with a contemporary design in concrete,

Contemporary Design House

and intriguing houses surrounded by tall stone walls.

House with Tall Stone Walls

and there were small houses made in the Dominican folk tradition decorated with children’s writing and drawings.

Small Blue Folk House

Walking around La Romana was an exciting experience. There were mysterious places that seemed to be hidden away right near the center of town,

Graffiti Wall with Sun Sculpture

and other mysterious places right on the main street.

Bella Green Disco

La Romana was a town with many locations and destinations.

There was the Bucanero del Rey

Bucanero del Rey

and the Café Babilonia

Café Babilonia

La Romana may have seemed, at first glance, to be just a small town, but as I got to know La Romana better, I found a very complex urban environment that encompassed hundreds of years of history, and a wealth of interesting architecture and lifestyles.

Many thanks to Carol Burke for another wonderful article! If anyone would like to view Carol’s photos in higher resolution or download them, you can do some by visiting her flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dandelion-tree/collections/72157624697056850/

Also below are links to all of Carol’s previous articles!

Memories of Casa de Campo: La Romana Landmarks

Related