Casablanca looks after its heritage… Really?
At first sight, Casablanca enthusiasts will be delighted with the news. Some one hundred twentieth-century buildings have been listed as historic monuments, sys the Official Gazette No. 7265 of mid-January and No. 7268 of January 25, 2024. The decision by the Minister of Youth, Culture, and Communication, Mohammed El Mehdi Bensaïd, was signed at the end of 2023.
The Casablanca Urban Agency initiated the procedure for the 96 buildings. Its governor-general, Taoufiq Benali, submitted applications to the Cultural Heritage Directorate on December 14, 2021 and April 6, 2023. « Their registration as landmarks is the fruit of a colossal effort by the Casablanca Urban Agency, the design offices, and architects who worked on this public-interest project. These are the first buildings in our city to be listed by the Urban Agency…», explains Karim Rouissi, the new president of the Casamémoire association (for the preservation of Casablanca’s heritage). There have been similar initiatives by public authorities in the past. This was the case for the Church of the Sacred Heart and the Excelsior hotel, officially listed at the request of the Wali of Greater Casablanca – Prefect of Anfa (Official Gazette No. 5166 of December 4, 2003).
Buildings that had been inventoried subsequently benefited from legal protection, largely thanks to Casamémoire’s advocacy for the preservation of Casablanca’s heritage since its creation in 1995.
In addition, 4 of the 96 newly listed buildings are public property.
They belong respectively to the Republic of Poland, Maison Beausoleil on rue d’Alger; to the private domain of the Moroccan State, principally Collège Zerktouni; or to the Casablanca Urban Commune.
The latter owns the market at the junction of Bd Omar Slaoui and rue Agadir, as well as the School of Fine Arts on Bd Errachidi. The remaining 92 buildings are privately owned, including the legendary Immeuble Liberté. Also on the list is Poste Maroc (The Moroccan Post Office).
According to a survey on «perceptions and expectations of cultural life in the city of Casablanca», «urban planning is one of the key areas for construction in the service of Casablanca’s cultural positioning». These findings include «the gradual disappearance of historic cultural spaces such as local cinemas», according to a study carried out in October 2008 by DS Marketing for the City of Casablanca. The best is the enemy of the good, say the pragmatists. Except that L’Baïda mon amour (name of a Rai song) has seen its heritage shrink. In the Anfa district, the destruction of Grand Vizier Mohamed El Mokri’s villa is one of the darkest episodes in our heritage history. Its demolition was at the origin of the creation of Casamémoire in 1995. Since then, public authorities have become more sensitive to the issue. But real estate predators and their accomplices are still on the prowl.
Faiçal FAQUIHI
