A decade later - Fundação Luso-Americana

cuLTure
The Bagatelle:
a possible public landmark
The Bagatelle, the famed Dabney home
in Horta, was the first family dwelling
built. Between 1812 and 1814, master
carpenters travelled from America to erect
the estate, the permanent residence of a
successful, cosmopolitan American family
that would change the face of the
island. It also marked a change in style
in the Azores, with its New England
architectural features. With three stories,
an ample balcony hanging over the
porch, and sash and bay windows, the
home commanded a breathtaking view
of the channel and Pico Island. Obscured
by unchecked vegetation, it still exists as
#19, Rua de São Paulo; but the huge pink
fairy-tale mansion is slowly crumbling,
althoug its current owners put it to sale
as did the owners of the erstwhile Dabney
residence, the Fredonia, which is now a
playschool. Another former residence, the
Cedars, is currently the official residence
of the president of the Azores Legislative
Assembly, and the family’s vacation home
in Porto Pim has gone from being a ruin
to what will likely become a museum
about the archipelago, thanks to the
regional environmental and maritime
authorities.
Horta’s town council explains that the
Bagatelle occupies a city block in the
parish of Mártires, has not been classified
as a public landmark, but that “the Horta
urban development plan approved last
year has allowed for the possibility of its
being classified.”
Questioned about the dilapidated state
of the building and the neglect suffered
by the whole city lock on which the oncecharming
grounds are located – 500 m 2
of building space and 1,500 m 2 of gardens
- the city authorities claim they are “naturally
worried about the state of this and
other historical buildings in
Horta. Over the years we have
been working – not only to
define the boundaries of the
historical quarter of the city –
but to design a recovery strategy
for it.”
The Horta Town Council also
seems to have recognized the
diamond in the rough sitting
squarely within the city: one
that can encourage more cultural
tourism once the link
between the Dabneys and the
whaling culture that joined
Faial and New Bedford has
been explored. In September of
2009, we brought the public’s
attention to the dilapidated
state of the Dabney family plot
in the Carmo Municipal
Cemetery. Since then, the mayor’s
office has informed us that
it has not only repaired and
recovered the plot, but “published
a small brochure about
the historical spot. The brochure
was distributed to a
group representing the New
Bedford Whaling Museum that
visited Faial recently to promote
cultural tourism.”
The American family now reposes
in the memory and in the deep
black earth of Faial. Fourteen
graves lie in the most tuckedaway
corner of the cemetery. To
reach it you must climb to the
top of the cemetery and look for
the marker – a stately palm tree
– that over the years has thrived
on the family’s history in order
to touch the sky.
‘ Bagatelle [...] marked a change in
style in the Azores, with its new
england architectural features. With
three stories, an ample balcony
hanging over the porch, and
sash and bay windows, the home
commanded a breathtaking view
of the channel and pico island.
’
Today in ruins, the Bagatelle was the dabney’s legendary
home in Horta. The Town council admits to being worried
about its condition, and states that it may be classified
as a local landmark in the future.
Parallel no. 6 | FALL | WINTER 2011 73
DR