Old ladies' house: a historical museum
By Betty Fung 

      The abandoned building has been reserved as a historical relic of the 
      city and attracts many tourists.

Driven by curiosity and a sense of belonging, a group of local artists and students initiated a project to investigate more about the Old Ladies' House. They visited some of the old ladies who used to live in this traditional big house, trying to know more about its history. 

The Old Ladies' House is located in the Calcada da igreja de S. Lazaro, occupying around 1,300 square metres. This area has been reserved as a historical relic by the Macao Government, but a large-scale renovation is required.

The name of the Old Ladies' House indeed sounds interesting. It actually came from a local slang. Once upon a time, it was an old people's home where many female seniors stayed. As time passed, people associated this building only with the name "Old Ladies' House" and forgot completely that it was originally called "Albergue da Santa Casa de Misericordia," which means "Home of the Poor." Some people said the Old Ladies' House was the home of those ladies who refused to marry. 

The lack of maintenance made the building dangerous to live in. As a new old people's home was built in 1999, old ladies from the House were all relocated to their new home in 2000. The Old Ladies' House was left abandoned.

Between the two blocks of the Old Ladies' House, there is a small house. Some local artists believed that it was an ideal place for a small-scale drama. Jackie Lee, one of the actors of the play "O Paraiso da Donzela," said that the Old Ladies' House was an ideal place for the play. 

This play described the changes in Macao during the past ten years. The story included two parts, the first part took place in the Culture Centre. After the first session, all the audience would get on a tourist bus and tour around Macao. Then they would be brought to the final destination - the Old Ladies' House where the second part of the play was set. 

In the second session, all the actors would act as if they were living in the house. Interesting stories went on in the House and made the viewers immerse in the environment. Lee said that this performance was successful and their group would try to bring up more similar performances in the future.

To provide more knowledge on the history, the library of the Old Ladies' House organised a seminar in August. Chan Wai Hang, a local scholar in history was the guest speaker for the topic "Inside and Outside the City." He talked about how ancient Macao was divided by the city wall, the interesting stories that happened inside and outside the City, and the historical background of the Old Ladies' House. This seminar attracted a large audience. 

Patricia Maria Pereia is now 74 years old, she recalled that her daily life in the House was very enjoyable and free. People had their own social lives outside in the morning. In the afternoon, some of the ladies played mah-jong in the courtyard and others would do their knitting. According to Pereia, there were both Chinese and Portuguese living in the House. The Portuguese usually lived on the top floor while the Chinese stayed on the ground floor. During the peak years of the House, there were more than 100 old ladies living there.