In Trinidad, a Painted Lady in Distress by David Shaftel

Port of Spain, Trinidad has a lot of historical buildings which can be traced to 1900. Even though they are beautiful and historically valuable, but they are not easy to maintain. Almost every rain season, there is a new leak in the building. In fact, the owners have to spend a lot of money to renovate the, sometimes three times of the expense to renovate than the price to buy. Right now, there are several buildings are for sale. Most of the owners rebuild the buildings with modern furniture and designs. Some run them as B&B. But there are also some preservationists calling for the preservation campaigns in Trinidad. They try to preserve the building as many as possible. There are also laws and fine for the owners and buyers who torn down the historical buildings. I personally agree to preserve the historical buildings. But the government or preservation organizations should help the owners fix their buildings down the line. Otherwise, when the owners cannot afford the expense, they will eventually tear the buildings down. On the other side, I also think everyone has the choice to rebuild his/her own house no matter what type of the building is. Is it fair to receive a fine by rebuilding one self’s house?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/13/garden/13trinidad.html?ref=americas