Royal Gazette: Decrepit Archlyn Vila faces uncertain fate
The Bermuda Hospitals Board will determine the fate of what was one of the island’s most iconic guesthouses.
A spokeswoman said the BHB, which purchased Archlyn Villa in 1990, will decide whether to sell or renovate the building on St John’s Road by the end of this year.
The property, which the BHB planned to use as a hospice, housed hospital staff from 1990 until 2014, but outstanding repairs have caused it to be vacant since then.
The property was built by John Gibson in 1826 and had several owners before Archibald and Lillian Minors bought and expanded it in 1953.
Mr and Mrs Minors, who are credited with starting Black tourism in Bermuda, operated Archlyn Villa from their St George’s home from 1944 until relocating to Pembroke.
Archlyn Villa accommodated Black tourists during racial segregation in Bermuda and singers Gladys Knight and Patty LaBelle, poet Langston Hughes and most Black entertainers who performed at the Forty Thieves nightclub stayed there.
The Minorses and their guesthouse were featured in Who’s Who in America in 1974 and Afro-American newspapers.