Kenya's First Skyscraper Closes - and Leaves a Complicated Legacy TC_Africa: Kenya
The Hilton Hotel was one of Nairobi's first skyscrapers. The iconic cylindrical tower was opened in 1969 by President Jomo Kenyatta, six years after Kenya's independence from Britain.of the hotel after more than 50 years of operation comes at a time of vertical transformation in the city's skyline.
Across the continent, a new African modernism emerged in the 1960s. Like the Hotel Independence in Dakar, Senegal, or the soaring Hotel Ivoire in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, the vertical reach of the Hilton was symbolic of a new era of ambition and a means to express an emerging national identity. As the anthropologist Filip de Boeck hasThe Hilton helped to shape the character of central Nairobi. It quickly became an urban landmark and a meeting place of the new elite.
Hotels were places where alliances were made and deals were struck in a more informal atmosphere. Different hotels had different personalities and were associated with different social sets. Some were more exclusive; others were associated with certain political allegiances. Over time, however, the Hilton also gained a reputation for high-end sleaze. It was a place where the predominantly male politicians of the time would go to pick up women, where notorious parties were held, and rooms could be booked for"a short time."in it through the Kenya Development Corporation, with a decision still to be made.
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