One man is in a race against the clock to rescue 100 years of history from the lure of development.

The Somers Playhouse in St. George's, once a critical pillar in the community for freed black men, is slated to become a condominium complex if Government planners approve an application submitted earlier this month.

Any member of the public who wants to object to the proposal must do so by 5 p.m. today.

That's why Keith DuBois, 51, is in such a hurry.

He said: "To me, and to black people, touching one stone of that building unless it's renovations is like taking a wrecking ball to St. Peter's Church."

Mr. DuBois has spent the past week meeting with people, writing letters and lobbying on the telephone — trying to give a history lesson on the building to whomever will listen. Ultimately he hopes the people he's been talking to will join his official effort to protect the property from becoming condominiums, and instead turn it into a museum.

Yesterday Community of Cultural Affairs Minister Wayne Perinchief sided with protectionism over development in a statement to The Royal Gazette.

He said: "Speaking in my capacity as Minister with the responsibility to protect the culture of our country and its people, I am aware of the importance of the Somers Playhouse as one of the first buildings to be owned by the Pride Of India Lodge — one of our friendly societies.

"The preservation of this historic building in its original architectural integrity is extremely important.

"The building should be turned into a facility which would promote our cultural heritage, i.e. a museum or similar edifice."

Mr. DuBois has won similar support from Edward Harris at the Bermuda Maritime Museum, as well as representatives at the Bermuda Historical Society and the Bermuda Heritage Museum in St. George's.

Last night Keith DuBois still hadn't stopped, he continued to mount his challenge and gather support.

He said: "The problem is people don't know about the history of the building. They know it's a listed building and it has some historical significance, but they don't really know what it means to the black community.

"I spend more time telling people about the history of it than I do asking people for support. Once I tell them there's no problem. They understand."

The official name of the Somers Playhouse is The Somers Pride of India #899. It was built in the early 1900's and immediately became ground zero for freed blacks — providing loans, funeral assistance, healthcare and social services.

But long before the building went up, the group, which originally had a different name, was focused on the emancipated slave's social support and financial security.

And during the last part of the 1800's the St. George's based organisation established an unbreakable relationship with a similar fraternity in Somerset. They played a cricket match every year which, in 1902, became known as Cup Match.

The history is as rich as it is long.

But the Georgian-style structure, as it stands today, partly dilapidated, is only marginally protected by the country's list of historically protected buildings. Listed as a grade 3 (see panel), developers are perfectly within their rights to attempt converting the building from a theatre into housing.

The plans call for ten two-bed two-bath units and two three-bed three-bath units. The proposal outlines a desire to keep the exterior appearance largely unchanged.

Plus current Lodge Member Miguel DoCouto, 36, said last night: "The Lodge remains committed to discussing any reasonable objections or concrete proposals."

Keith DuBois isn't so sure about that. He questions the motives of the lodge members who now control the fate of the building.

He said: "They're not interested in the history of the building. They want money. It's a bunch of black guys, unfortunately, and money is more important to them than anything.

"Me talking to them is not going to make any difference. This is the only route I could see myself going."

In an interview earlier this month another Lodge Member Shane Kelly, 37, seemed to predict the kind of criticism being voiced now.

He said: "Whatever we do in the future we want it to be something that the community needs. We're not totally commercial driven organisation.

"The idea we have was to build something that is relatively simple and relatively affordable. And if you look at the planning design, it's fairly simple. We're not looking to build multi-million dollar condos. We're not developers. We're just an organisation that has a building and a piece of land and were trying to figure out the best use for it."