Queen Elizabeth II, who died yesterday at the age of 96, was once known as The Queen of Trinidad and Tobago before T&T became a Republic in 1976.
Here are five places in T&T named after the title of Queen.
Queen’s Park Savannah
Queen’s Park Savannah (QPS) is a large green space in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Known locally as simply “the Savannah,” it is Port-of-Spain’s largest open space. It occupies about 260 acres (110 ha)[1] of level land, and the distance around the perimeter is about 2.2 mi (3.5 km).
Once sugarcane farmland, it was bought by the town council in 1817 from the Peschier family (except for a small parcel near its centre that served as the Peschier cemetery, which remains in private hands).
At first, it was used as a vast cattle pasture in what was then the town’s suburbs, but by the mid-19th century, it had become established as a park.
In the early 20th century, it was used as an airstrip when there were no airports built. Until the early 1990s, horse racing was held frequently at the Savannah racetrack, and it also contains several cricket, football and rugby pitches.
Apart from a ring of trees round its perimeter, the Savannah was never really landscaped, except for the small area in its northwest corner called the Hollows, a former reservoir now drained and planted with ornamental shrubs.
Today, it remains a major recreational spot in T&T.
Queen’s Hall
Built in 1959 and located in Port-of-Spain on a picturesque three-acre site at the entrance to St Ann’s and Cascade, the 30,000 square-foot arts centre provides an environment for a wide variety of world-class events and an eclectic mix of theatre, music, dance and other performing arts disciplines.
Queen’s Royal College
Queen’s Royal College (St Clair, Trinidad), referred to for short as QRC, or “The College” by alumni, is a secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. This college got its name under Queen Victoria.
Originally a boarding school and grammar school, the secular college is selective and noted for its German Renaissance architecture, academic performance and alumni representation in sports, politics and science in Trinidad and Tobago and globally.
The main building itself is one of the Magnificent Seven, a group of historic buildings built in the early 1900s. The North and South buildings, known as the North Block and Science Block respectively, were built during the late 1930s. The school has its own pavilion and canteen, both located on the edge of its field, used in all seasons for various sports.
Queen Street (now remaned Queen Janelle Commssiong Street)
Officially renamed Queen Janelle Commissiong Street in 2017, Queen Street had been one of the main West to East streets in the capital Port-of-Spain for decades. There is also another Queen Street in the country’s second city, San Fernando and there is also a Queen Street in Arima.
Queen’s Park Oval
The Queen’s Park Oval is a sports venue in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, used mostly for cricket matches, but can also host football matches and has tennis and squash facilities. It opened in 1896.
Privately owned by the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, it is currently the second largest capacity cricket ground in the West Indies, with seating for about 20,000 people.
It has hosted more cricket Test matches than any other ground in the Caribbean, with 60 as of January 2018, and also hosted a number of One-Day International (ODI) matches, including many World Series Cricket games in 1979 and matches of the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team play most of their home matches at the ground, and it is the home ground of the Caribbean Premier League team Trinbago Knight Riders.
The pavilion, named after world batting record holder Brian Lara following his achievements, dates back to 1896, though there were extensive renovations in the 1950s and in 2007 prior to the World Cup and following an earthquake. The “Concrete Stand” was renamed the “Learie Constantine Stand” in recognition of that former West Indies cricketer. The first ODI match at the ground was played in March 1983, and the first Twenty20 International in 2009.
