Top 10 Oldest Buildings In Nigeria
If you're looking for a local travel destination with lots of interesting history, you might be interested in how much Nigeria has to offer without breaking the bank.
If you are feeling adventurous and ready to learn something about Nigerian history, here are some of the oldest buildings in Nigeria that you can visit. Meanwhile, some of these buildings are even ranked in top 10 oldest Buildings in the world
Top 10 Oldest Houses In Nigeria
- Jaekela House, Lagos
- Nigeria's first European-style high-rise
- Taiwo Olowo Monument, Lagos
- St George's Hall, Lagos
- Mapo House, Ibadan
- Lugarda Bridge, Kaduna
- StKajuru Palace, Kaduna
- Benin Royal Palace
- King's College, Lagos
- Lugard Hall, Kaduna
1) Jaekela House, Lagos
Jakael House, one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria Jaekel House is a restored colonial mansion located at the Nigerian Railway Yard in Ebute-Metta.
It is now the NRC Railway Museum and Colonial Photo Gallery. It might be surprising to get a pat on the back in the hustle and bustle of Lagos, walk into a house and suddenly get away from the hustle and bustle? For example, a large field.
It is named after former NRC Director Francis Jackel and was originally built in 1898. This makes it 119 years old and thus arguably one of the oldest buildings still standing in Nigeria! It doesn't show its age as it was recently renovated. Want to visit this beautiful building and take a train ride through Nigeria's past?
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It is located at Ebute-Metta railway junction, Lagos and is open throughout the week.
2) Nigeria's first European-style high-rise
Nigeria's first European high-rise Yes, it is. This famous white single storey building in Baddagri was built in 1845 by Reverend Henry Townsend of the Anglican Missionary Society (CMS). Located in Badagry Marina, this historic building is St. Thomas Anglican Church Badagry.
Later, the famous Anglican Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther stayed here when he translated the Bible from English into Yoruba. Still intact after 171 years, the building holds great historical significance in the history of the slave trade and colonialism. It is also very close to Badagry's great entertainment options.
These include several overwater resorts, hotels, beaches and party venues. If you're brave enough, you can even enter the house, which generates hundreds of ghost stories from tourists and tourists every year.
3) Taiwo Olowo Monument, Lagos
Taiwo Olowo Monument, Lagos, one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria Daniel Conrad Taiwo arrived in Lagos in 1848 as a servant. When he died in 1901, aged 120, he had amassed so much wealth that he was called the ? Taiwo Olovo (Taivo's Rich Man).
Taiwo Olowo has also become very powerful in the Lagos political landscape during a successful (if somewhat immoral) career with everything from slaves to guns. He alone controlled all trade routes and markets in Isheri.
He married 16 wives and his descendants now number in the hundreds. In 1905, Brazilian return builder Senhor Jorge DaCosta built the impressive monument? Commemoration of his life.
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It has a plaque forged from hundreds of molten copper coins, befitting the status of Taiwo Olowo. Across the street from the monument is his family mansion? Iga Taiwo Olowo (The Rich Palace of Taiwo).
It is still in the possession of his descendants and lives today. If you're lucky, you might even meet one of them and have a nice chat about the legend of Taiwo Olowo.
4) Mapo House, Ibadan
Mapo Hall, Ibadan One of the oldest buildings in Nigeria It may not look like it, but it is also one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria. Built in 1929, Mapo Hall shows 87 years of Nigeria's history from its vantage point atop Mount Mapo, the highest point in the city of Ibadan.
The sprawling building, designed by British engineer Robert Taffy Jones, is one of Ibadan's most impressive buildings, towering over the metropolis with its massive stone columns and Victorian architecture above.
Mapo Hall was originally built for administrative purposes and public deliberations. Today, especially since its restoration in 2006, it is a site and tourist destination with its own indoor mini-museum and impressive gallery portrait exhibition showcasing all the Oluba Dan people of Ibadan, past and present.
5) St George's Hall, Lagos
St. George's Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria This charming building on Broad Street was built in 1907. It belongs to St. George House No. 3065 of Global Freemasonry. Prior to construction, Sir Walter Egerton, then Governor of the Southern Colonies and Protectorate of Nigeria, granted a 99-year lease of the land, exempt from taxes and rates.
Some of the biggest names in Nigerian history have been regular visitors to the building over the years. They include Sir Adejemo Alakija, Nat Sowand Cole, Chief Oludare Holloway and Willoughby Osborne. The building usually has ornate Victorian design and ornamentation.
If you would like to visit this historic building, it is open on Sundays from 11am to 5pm.
6) Lugarda Bridge, Kaduna
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Lugarda Pedestrian Bridge, one of the oldest structures in Nigeria Lugarda Pedestrian Bridge is a 113-year-old pedestrian bridge currently located in General Hassan Park, Kaduna.
It was originally built by Frederic Lugard in 1904 in what is now Zungeru, Niger State. At the time, Zungalo was the capital of the Northern Nigeria Protectorate. After amalgamation in 1914, the bridge was moved to Gamji Gate in Kaduna and rebuilt.
The bridge has been listed as a historical monument of national importance since 1956.
7) StKajuru Palace, Kaduna
Kajuru Castle, One of the Oldest Buildings in Nigeria While the other buildings on this list are very old, Kajuru Castle is not what it was when it was built by an unnamed German expatriate in 1978, with only 39 years of history.
However, it makes the list with its unusual German architecture and backstory, because it's not every day you see a full-sized German castle in Kaduna! If you want to explore Kajuru Castle, you have to rent the whole building.
It is said to have cost between N240,000 and N350,000 per person. day.
8) Benin Royal Palace:
The Oba's Palace in Benin, one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria.
Visitors to the Oba's Palace are not allowed to take photographs. Because of this, it is very difficult to get photos of this historic building. Although originally built for 6 centuries by Oba Ewedo (1255-1280 AD) as a symbol of the mighty Beni Empire, it was destroyed in 1897 after reconstruction by Oba Ewedo II (1914-1932) in his British punitive expedition.
It remains one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
9) King's College, Lagos
King's College, one of the oldest King's College buildings in Nigeria, was built by the British colonial authorities in Lagos in 1909.
It cost £10,001 to build and is one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria. ?The building was originally created to prepare male students for London University entrance exams.? Today, almost 120 years later, King's College still stands at its original location on Catholic Church Street, Lagos Island.
10) Lugard Hall, Kaduna
Lugard Hall, one of the oldest buildings in Nigeria Lugard Hall, the seat of the Kaduna State Parliament, was built in 1914. That is why it is 103 years old. Named after Frederick Lugard, it was originally the seat of the legislature of the Northern Protectorate. The architectural style is modeled after the House of Commons and the House of Lords in Westminster, London, England.
