The legendary Lincoln hotel of Casablanca, located in the historic centre of the economic metropolis, is scheduled to start renovation in 2019. The French group Réalités International say the cost is estimated at 150 million dirhams and the work will last two and a half years
The Lincoln Hotel on Mohammed V Avenue (then Avenue de la Gare) in Casablanca was designed in 1916 by the French architect Hubert Bride, at the time when Casablanca was a playground and experiment for Western architects, who mixed Western techniques and Moorish motifs. The Lincoln Hotel is a beautiful, majestic Art Deco building. After decolonization, fortunately, it did not suffer the same fate as many other buildings dating from the protectorate, which were destroyed in an attempt to erase the traces of the French occupation.
Over time, the hotel deteriorated and its facade blackened. In 1989 two people are killed by the collapse of part of a floor. As a result of this tragedy, the building was emptied of its occupants. A few years later a homeless man was killed in another collapse.
In 2000, the Lincoln was classified as historical heritage. Rehabilitation projects were born, including a plan by an American woman who wanted to make it a cultural centre dedicated to the inhabitants of Casablanca, but nothing happened.
Now, at last, there is some hope that the hotel will be reborn.
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