Manzana de Gómez

CA4
General sightseeing
Architectural style: Eclectic
CA Ranking: 4
Admission: n-a
Limited by Neptuno, Monserrate, Obispo and Zulueta Streets, Habana Vieja
  • Owned by Julián de Zulueta, construction work began in 1890 according to the project designed by architect Pedro Tomé Veracruisse; however, still unfinished, it was sold to Andrés Gómez Mena, who completed the first floor. Four other floors were subsequently added from 1916 to 1918, all of which were designed around a central courtyard, which ensured natural lighting and ventilation. The ground floor, which was surrounded by wide galleries with inner passageways that met in a rotunda, was set aside for shops, while the upper floors housed business offices, law firms, notary’s offices and other. It held over 500 departments and it was estimated that a floating population of 25,000 people would visit the place every day.

    (under restoration)

    
  • Teatro Martí

    Teatro Martí  LH 4

    Elegant and simple, this Romanesque-style theater opened in 1884 as Teatro Irijoa and changed its name to Teatro Martí in 1900. Because of its location in Habana Vieja and its great acoustics, it achi …

    Sloppy Joe’s Bar

    Sloppy Joe’s Bar  LH 5-

    6pm is Sloppy Joe cocktail hour again at the original Sloppy Joe’s saloon, an iconic Cuban bar that reopened Friday April 12, 2013 after a nearly 50-year break in its original location. The restoratio …

    Fototeca de Cuba

    Fototeca de Cuba  LH 4

      Inaugurated in 1986 to preserve, study and promote Cuba’s photographic heritage, Fototeca de Cuba, mid-way along the east side of the plaza, boasts the nation’s largest, most valuable collectio …

    Parque John Lennon

    Parque John Lennon  LH 4

    Occupying a whole block, the park delimited by 17, 15, 6 and 8 Streets had been unofficially known as John Lennon for years and had been a popular meeting place for young people and sometimes imprompt …

    La Bodeguita del Medio

    La Bodeguita del Medio  LH 4

    Back 1942, this well-known restaurant was a small grocery store. Its owner, Ángel Martínez, began to sell food as the number of customers increased. One day, journalist Leandro Garcia, a regular costu …

    Jardín Diana de Gales

    Jardín Diana de Gales  LH 4

    The distinctly non-communist fairytale crown atop a wrought-iron archway is something of a giveaway for one of Havana’s most delightful gardens, the Jardín Diana de Gales, inaugurated in 2000 in memor …

    Group of houses on Cárdenas Street

    Group of houses on Cárdenas Street  LH 4

    It is unusual in the city to find in such a short stretch so many interesting examples of Art Nouveau constructions. Only recently has the City Historian’s Office begun restoration works on some of th …

    Centro Cultural El Gran Palenque

    Centro Cultural El Gran Palenque  LH 4

    El Gran Palenque is home to the world-renowned dance troupe Conjunto Folklórico Nacional de Cuba. Opened in 1997, it has its origins in the Patio de la Rumba, founded in 1982 by folklorist Rogelio Mar …

    Museo de la Farmacia Habanera La Reunión

    Museo de la Farmacia Habanera La Reunión  LH 4

    Opened in 2004 in the building where the old pharmacy La Reunión was located, this museum is considered the most important pharmaceutical complex in Cuba and one of the largest and most beautiful in t …

    Palacio de los Matrimonios (Casino Español)

    Palacio de los Matrimonios (Casino Español)  LH 4

    Built in 1914 as Casino Español, one of the several Spanish social clubs in Havana, this beautiful Neo-Renaissance building boasts a ballroom that takes up the entire upper floor and that in itself is …

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