The Oldest Structure
This is the oldest structure in Royal Dane Mall, build soon after 1831 with local stone and imported brick. Sailing ships from Europe and North America brought light cargoes of special food-stuffs and manufactured goods in exchange for a weightier export of sugar, molasses and run. The heavy ballast of brick and building materials needed on the outward journey could be sold on St. Thomas at a price - hence the variety of bricks observable throughout the alley. That these substantial warehouses have survived, hurricanes and earthquakes is a testimony to the skill of the West Indian craftsmen who built them.
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