The Nassau Straw Market on Bay Street is housed in a two-story, hurricane-resistant concrete building designed to withstand winds up to two hundred miles per hour. This structure, which features a high vaulted roof, emerged as a response to multiple disasters that defined the market's history. For generations, Bahamian women wove dried palm fronds into baskets, mats, and hats for practical use, an industry that expanded significantly in the nineteen-forties after the local sponging trade collapsed and tourism increased.
Nassau Straw Market
landmark
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