Paseo del Prado, Havana
Paseo del Prado | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
General information | |
Type | Promenade |
Location | Havana, Cuba |
Coordinates | 23°08′21″N 82°21′33″W / 23.13917°N 82.35917°W |
Inaugurated | 1925 |
Technical details | |
Material | Terrazo, coral stone, bronze |
Floor count | 1 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier |
Paseo del Prado is a street and promenade in Havana, Cuba, near the location of the old city wall, and the division between Centro Habana and Old Havana. Technically, the Paseo del Prado includes the entire length of Paseo Martí approximately from the Malecon to Calle Máximo Gómez,[a] the Fuente de la India fountain. The promenade has had several names; it was renamed Paseo de Martí in 1898 with the island's independence from Spain. Despite the historic references, the people of Havana simply call it "El Prado".
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/33/Paseo_del_Prado_de_La_Habana.jpg/280px-Paseo_del_Prado_de_La_Habana.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4b/El_Prado%2C_Havana%2C_before_its_construction_in_1925.jpg/300px-El_Prado%2C_Havana%2C_before_its_construction_in_1925.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/31/Paseo_del_Prado%2C_Havana_ca._1926.jpg/300px-Paseo_del_Prado%2C_Havana_ca._1926.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/1874-05-15%2C_La_Ilustraci%C3%B3n_Espa%C3%B1ola_y_Americana%2C_Espa%C3%B1a_en_Ultramar_%28cropped%29_Habana%2C_Alameda_de_Isabel_II.jpg/300px-1874-05-15%2C_La_Ilustraci%C3%B3n_Espa%C3%B1ola_y_Americana%2C_Espa%C3%B1a_en_Ultramar_%28cropped%29_Habana%2C_Alameda_de_Isabel_II.jpg)
Construction of the first European-style boulevard in Havana, the first street of its type outside the city walls, was proposed by Don Felipe Fons de Viela y Ondeano in 1770, and work was completed in the mid-1830s during the term of Captain General (Spanish: Capitanía General de Cuba) Miguel Tacón y Rosique (1834–1838)[b] who was also responsible for the Paseo de Tacón, the Plaza del Vapor and the Tacón Theatre.
in 1925 French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier redesigned the Paseo del Prado, lined it with trees, bronze sculptures of lions, coral stone walls and marble benches.[2] The bronze lions were added in 1928. The Lions were commissioned by President Gerardo Machado. They were authored by French sculptor Jean Puiforcat and Cuban-born master caster Juan Comas Masique, who used the metal from decommissioned cannons to forge the lions.
Lining the boulevard are important buildings such as the
At the corner of Cárcel street the car dealership Packard & Cunnigham was located, and in 1940 the radio network RHC-Cadena Azul established its studios on the Prado.
Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/La_Habana_-_Forestier1925.jpg/300px-La_Habana_-_Forestier1925.jpg)
Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier (9 January 1861 in
Deterioration
The Paseo del Prado had been a replacement for the first promenade in the City of
Gallery
-
Panoramic image of the Prado. Havana, Cuba. ca 1925
-
circa 1918
-
circa 1920
-
circa 1930
See also
- Havana Plan Piloto
- La Alameda de Paula, Havana
- Paseo de Tacón
- Fuente de la India
Notes
- ^ In 1902 when the Havana City Council renamed the street Máximo Gómez, few could imagine that this name was not going to take among the people of the City who would continue to call it "Calle Monte".
- ^ Miguel Tacón y Rosique (Cartagena, January 10, 1775 - Madrid, October 12, 1855) First Marquis of the Union of Cuba, (later elevated to Duchy), Duke of the Union of Cuba, was a nobleman, sailor and Spanish military, Lieutenant General of the Royal Navy, Field Marshal of the Army of Earth and I Duke of the Union of Cuba.
References
- ^ "La Ilustración española y americana. v.18. 1874: Jan.-June". HathiTrust website. p. (18): 285.
- ^ a b Habana Radio. "Paseo del Prado". Retrieved 2 January 2020.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)