Banco de La Habana

CA2
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Eclectic
CA Ranking: 2
Admission: Free
Cuba e/ Obispo y Obrapía, Habana Vieja
  • This 1915 two-story building was made of reinforced concrete. Its façade was composed of elements of the Ionic order and stood out because of its semicircular portico and its beautiful wooden door, which was protected by a solid wrought-iron gate. The façade’s six large columns with imposing pedestals gave the building a monumental character, very much in keeping with its role. With the Cuban banking collapse, the institution, which from the start was under the control of the National City Bank of New York, was compelled to enlarge the building due to an increase in operations, and in 1922, the third floor was added. Today, it is an office building for the national Insurance Company.

    
  • Museo Armería 9 de Abril

    Museo Armería 9 de Abril  LH 2

    The Museo Armería 9 de Abril displays a large collection of firearms and bladed weapons spanning the 18th to the 20th centuries. It occupies the former Compañía Armera de Cuba, a private gun shop that …

    Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea Cubana (Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe)

    Museo Nacional de la Cerámica Contemporánea Cubana (Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe)  LH 2

    Housed within Casa de Francisco Aguilera Basabe, a two-story building built in 1728, this museum exhibits Cuban art pottery from 1950 to the present day on the top floor, while the ground floor has a …

    Cementerio de Espada

    Cementerio de Espada  LH 2

    First called Cementerio General de La Habana, the Cementerio de Espada was built after the Spanish authorities issued a Royal Edict banning burials in temples because it was considered unhygienic. The …

    Fuente de Neptuno

    Fuente de Neptuno  LH 2

    The Fuente de Neptuno (Fountain of Neptune) was imported from Italy. Besides its ornamental function, it also supplied water to three boats at the same time, for which large iron rings were placed for …

    Avenida de Carlos III (Ave. Salvador Allende)

    Avenida de Carlos III (Ave. Salvador Allende)  LH 2

    This street was built by order of Governor Miguel de Tacón in 1836 and connects the intersection of Reina and Belascoaín streets to the Castillo del Príncipe. It was originally named Paseo de Tacón. L …

    Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín

    Casa Oswaldo Guayasamín  LH 2

    This institution honors Ecuadorian painter Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999), a dedicated socialist, supporter of the Cuban Revolution, and close friend to Fidel Castro. It’s located in an 18th-century m …

    Casa Cubana del Perfume

    Casa Cubana del Perfume  LH 2

    This quaint and lovely shop sells perfumes from the Cuban Suchel brand, and prepares personalized fragrances on site according to patrons’ tastes. It also doubles as a small museum, with a 19th-centur …

    Parque Arqueológico de la Maestranza

    Parque Arqueológico de la Maestranza  LH 2

    By the 1700s, Havana boasted an artillery factory for the manufacture and repair of weapons and ammunition. The factory was demolished and a “castle” was the built for the Police. This archeological s …

    Hotel Presidente

    Hotel Presidente  LH 2

    This is Havana’s first skyscraper and was inaugurated on December 28, 1928. It took its name from the street it is situated in and is the only hotel that features Cuba’s coat of arms on its façade. It …

    Clock Tower

    Clock Tower  LH 2

    Between 1921 and 1924, a clock tower was built on Fifth Avenue. It was designed by New Yorker John H. Duncan, one of the architects that contributed to the layout of the avenue and who also designed t …

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