Enjoying pride of place – The Linden Museum
By Enid Joaquin, November 25, 2013, By KNews, Filed Under News, Source
The Linden Museum of Industrial Arts and Socio-Cultural Heritage sits in the heart of Town, obliquely opposite the Mackenzie Market and Vendors’ Arcade.
The Linden Museum, formerly the Recreation Hall at Mackenzie.
5Replete with the Town’s history, the building itself has its own unique story, having evolved out of what was once the main centre of entertainment in the old days- the Recreation Hall.
The Recreation Hall was established in 1925, and served the recreational needs of Lindeners for many years.
However, on the 25th of April, 2006, the Linden Museum was officially opened to the public, after massive rehabilitation works costing millions of dollars were undertaken. The nearby Krescent Foods on Coop Crescent, reportedly ‘foot’ most of the costs for the rehabilitation.
The museum’s opening coincided with the 36th anniversary of Linden.
Today it remains one of the more significant achievements of the Region 10 Tourism Development Association (RTTDA), which was tasked with its establishment, following a partnership between the Interim Management Committee of the Linden Town Council and Krescent Foods Incorporated.
Towards this end, the RTTDA would engage the services of Cultural Heritage and Museum Development Specialist Yolanda Durant- McKlmon.
Out of all these collaborative efforts, Lindeners have now over the years been afforded the opportunity, to be transported back in time, to the way things were in the distant past.
There are replicas of the famous R.H Carr that plied the Demerara River, and was the main means of transport between Linden and Georgetown before the establishment of the Linden/Soesdyke Highway.
The famous 13,000 walking dragline, which was used to excavate bauxite in the early days, also enjoys pride of place among the other myriad artifacts and other important memorabilia which adorn both the walls and floor of the Museum.
A huge cast iron pot or “carahy”, which was reportedly used on one of the plantations, to either cook food or boil cane sugar, sits majestically outside, bidding welcome.
