Hotel Tequendama & Centro de Convenciones (Convention Center) is an historic

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

in Bogotá, Colombia. It is located in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

neighborhood of the town of Santa Fe at the intersection of Tenth Avenue and Twenty-Sixth Avenue. The hotel, designed by

Holabird & Root The architectural firm now known as Holabird & Root was founded in Chicago in 1880. Over the years, the firm has changed its name several times and adapted to the architectural style then current — from Chicago School to Art Deco to Modern ...

John Burgee __NOTOC__ John Burgee (born August 28, 1933) is an American architect noted for his contributions to Postmodern architecture. He was a partner of Philip Johnson from 1967 to 1991, creating together the partnership firm Johnson/Burgee Architects. ...

, and the Colombian architectural firm Cuéllar Serrano Gómez, was constructed between 1950 and 1951. Between 1967 and 1970, the hotel was expanded to double its original size.

History

The Hotel Tequendama occupies the grounds of the former San Diego cloister, the Superior School of War, the

Military School A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

and the

Ministry of Defense {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. The hotel was the first building constructed in the Centro Internacional Tequendama complex. Its construction took place within the framework of the expansion of Tenth Avenue. When first constructed, the hotel adjoined the Centennial Park. The hotel was the tallest building built in the city in the 1950s. On May 17, 1953, Hotel Tequendama was inaugurated with a banquet attended by the

President of Colombia The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...

Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez Roberto Urdaneta Arbeláez (27 June 1890 – 20 August 1972) was a Colombian Conservative party politician and lawyer who served as President of Colombia from November 1951 until June 1953, while President Laureano Gómez was absent due to healt ...

. Between 1967 and 1970 an extension was built in the same style as that of the original building. At this time, the hotel's main entrance was relocated to Tenth Avenue, the building was given a T-shaped plan, several

conference rooms A conference hall, conference room, or meeting room is a room provided for singular events such as business conferences and meetings. Room It is commonly found at large hotels and convention centers though many other establishments, including even ...

were added, and its capacity was doubled. For more than 50 years, Hotel Tequendama was managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) for the InterContinental Hotels and Resorts brand. So, it was known until 2007 as Hotel InterContinental Tequendama. That year it was announced that the hotel would switch to the

Crowne Plaza Crowne Plaza is a British multinational chain of full service, upscale hotels headquartered in the United Kingdom. It caters to business travelers and the meetings and conventions market. It forms part of the InterContinental Hotels Group family ...

brand of the Inter Continental Hotels Group (IHG). So, the hotel was renamed Hotel Crowne Plaza Tequendama.. The hotel Is considered a national monument in Bogotá.Edificios más altos de Colombia
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Etymology

Tequendama is a word derived from the

Chibcha language Chibcha, Mosca, Muisca, Muysca (*/ˈmɨska/), or Muysca de Bogotá, was a language spoken by the Muisca people of the Muisca Confederation, one of the many Indigenous peoples in Colombia, indigenous List of pre-Columbian cultures, cultures of ...

of the

Muisca The Muisca (also called Chibcha) are an indigenous people and culture of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, Colombia, that formed the Muisca Confederation before the Spanish conquest. The people spoke Muysccubun, a language of the Chibchan langu ...

, who inhabited the

Bogotá savanna The Bogotá savanna is a montane savanna, located in the southwestern part of the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the center of Colombia. The Bogotá savanna has an extent of and an average altitude of . The savanna is situated in the Eastern Range ...

in the times before the

Spanish conquest The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its predece ...

. It means "he who precipitates downward".Etymology Tequendama
/ref>

Gallery

File:Bogotá carrera 10 Hotel Tequendama.JPG, View of the hotel File:BOG Av calle 26 carrera 10 Bogotá Puentes y bus de Tranmsilenio.JPG, Hotel view with

TransMilenio TransMilenio is a bus rapid transit (BRT) system that serves Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, and Soacha. The system opened to the public in December 2000, covering Avenida Caracas, Caracas Avenue and 80 street. Other lines were added gradually ...

bus File:Av. 26 con carrera Décima Bogotá.JPG, Hotel Tequendama to the left, Avenida Calle 26 and Monserrate in the background File:Teogonía de los dioses chibchas.jpg, Mural of the Muisca deities in the lobby of the hotel

References

"In Bogota" - Joan Didion, _The White Album_

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.tequendamahotel.com/ Buildings and structures in Bogotá