/ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT/ARCHITECTURE-CUBA: If the Walls Could Speak

By Dalia Acosta Reprint | | Print |

Dalia Acosta

HAVANA, Aug 15 2000 (IPS) - Fragments of what were once considered the most beautiful neo-classical arcades in the Cuban capital have been uncovered, appearing unexpectedly inside the walls of the Fine Arts Palace during reconstruction work.

The old structures were hidden for almost a half century due to eagerness to bury the most controversial pages of Havana’s architectural heritage: the shocking demolition one night of the façade of the former Mercado de Col ón (Market of Columbus).

“They appeared when we least expected it, two splendid fragments of hewn stone on each side of the central axis of the Palace façade,” enthused architect José Linares, general design co-ordinator for the National Museum construction project.

In an article appearing in the latest issue of ‘Opus Habana’, the journal of the City Historian’s Office, Linares says the fragments, “of magnificent proportions and construction,” have been excellently preserved.

“They were literally ‘walled in’ between the thick interior walls of the principal hall” of the Fine Arts Palace, he stated, and revealed that the designers have decided to incorporate the find into the new façade of the restored building.

The architectural discovery occurred in January but was not announced until Opus Habana published the Linares article. The public can catch a glimpse of the stonework by peering through the metal construction fence erected around the Palace.

The Fine Arts Palace is one of three buildings that have been under reconstruction since last year to form part of the National Museum complex, a project of the City Historian’s Office in Havana and of the Council of State, the maximum government body in Cuba.

The building will be dedicated exclusively to Cuban exhibitions, while the old Asturias Centre, also being renovated and located just a few metres away, will exhibit the island’s older collections as well as art from other countries.

The third structure will be home to the museum’s offices, art storage and restoration workshops.

The first project for building the National Museum in Cuba was presented in 1925 by architects Evelio Govantes and Félix Cabarrocas, who wanted to mak e use of the Mercado de Colón’s façade of neo-classical arcades.

The Ministry of Public Works did not approve their idea until 1947. Construction began but was ultimately paralysed after financial sources dried up. Then, the night of Nov. 11, 1951, the arcades were demolished “without consulting or notifying even one institution of the fact, which was also marked by the silence and swiftness” of its execution, reported ‘El Mundo’ newspaper at the time.

News of the event, published under the headline “People Reject the Destruction of Havana’s Beautiful Arcades,” spawned intense debate in the Cuban press of the era.

For some, the Mercado de Colón, completed in 1884 and a worthy remake of the Cuban colonial style, did not hold any historical value because it was a recently built neo-classical construction at a time when New York was already erecting skyscrapers.

For his part, Joaquín Weiss said the market “did not deserve an end so absurd and dramatic.” An architectural history professor at the University of Havana from 1930 to 1962, he recorded the destruction in his book, “Cuban Colonial Architecture.”

“They imposed the value standards of a totally modern building and the arches fell under the ruthless blow of the pickaxe,” Weiss added.

Similar demolitions occurred throughout Havana in the early 1950s. One of the most notable was the destruction of the convent of Santo Domingo, which had served as home to the University of Havana for many years, founded in 1728.

Just a few years ago, the Historian’s Office restored one of the capital’s principal squares, the Plaza Vieja, after it had been paved over to create a parking lot.

Also on the site where the “most beautiful neo-classical arcades” once stood in Havana’s historical centre, itself declared a Heritage of Humanity Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in 1986, workers built the project designed by architect Alfonso Rodríguez Pichardo.

The result was a building that did not add anything special to the Cuban capital’s architectural environment. But the structure is currently undergoing a complete renovation so that at least it can serve its original purpose: to safely store works of art.