The Alameda de Paula is a

promenade An esplanade or promenade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. The historical definition of ''esplanade'' was a large, open, level area outside fortress or city walls to provide cle ...

in Havana, Cuba, it was the first to be built in the city designed by Antonio Fernández de Trebejos y Zaldívar.

History

The Alameda de Paula was commissioned by Captain General ( es, Capitanía General de Cuba) Felipe de Fons de Viela, member of the court of

King Carlos III it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese , house = Bourbon-Anjou , father = Philip V of Spain , mother = Elisabeth Farnese , birth_date = 20 January 1716 , birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain , death_dat ...

. It was built by architect Antonio Fernández de Trebejos in 1777. The site of the old Rincón refuse dump, initially the promenade was a dirt track with some benches and flanked by two rows of poplar trees. It was given the name Alameda de Paula because of its proximity to the Hospital and Iglesia of San Francisco de Paula which had been built in 1664. An ornamented marble fountain was built in 1847. Between 1803 and 1805 the pavement was tiled, a fountain and stone benches, lampposts and the marble column were added, it qualified as a pleasant entertainment for the residents of the Villa de San Cristóbal, lacking recreational sites at that time. The Alameda de Paula became one of Havana's most important social and cultural spaces and the model of the

Paseo del Prado The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. It runs north–south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also known as Plaza de Atocha), with the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo (the location ...

designed in 1925 by

Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier (9 January 1861 in Aix-les-Bains – 26 October 1930 in Paris) was a French landscape architect who trained with Adolphe Alphand and became conservator of the promenades of Paris. Works Forestier developed an arb ...

Social space

Frédéric Mialhe Álbum pintoresco de la Isla de Cuba

The Alameda de Paula became one of Havana's most important social and cultural spaces, it was the model of the

designed in 1925 by

. It was given the name Alameda de Paula because of its proximity to the old Hospital and Iglesia of San Francisco de Paula. Between 1803 and 1805 the pavement was tiled, a fountain and stone benches, lampposts and the marble column were added, it qualified as a pleasant entertainment for the residents of the Villa de San Cristóbal, lacking recreational sites at that time.

Renovation

The promenade was the subject of various transformations in the course of the 19th century; the embankment was tiled, a fountain was located there and the back of the seats was latticed. By that time it was considered the most popular and busiest place in the city. Toilets were built which increased its popularity. In the 1940s, squares were drawn at its ends, widened, and provided with access stairs and seats, street lamps were updated. In 1841, the stairs that gave access to the promenade were widened and several lampposts were added. In the year 2000, the Havana promenade was restored and extended until it reached the Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula.

Coliseo of Havana

El Coliseo o Teatro Principal de La Habana

The Coliseum was the first building erected in Havana to provide theatrical performances, it opened its doors on January 20, 1775. It was located in front of the Alameda de Paula between Calles Acosta, Oficios, and Luz, in Old Havana. Built between 1773 and 1775, the initiative for the creation of the theater came from the Marquis de la Torre, who managed to gather on July 2, 1773, the most important merchants and the main personalities of the city with the aim of raising funds for the construction of the building. Shortly after, work began on the masonry and wood building, directed by the Havana architect Antonio Fernández de Trebejos y Zaldívar; in the year 1775, it was announced that on the 20th of that current month, the performance of comedies would begin in the new Coliseum.

Gallery

File:Alameda-de-Paula-grabado.jpg, La Alameda de Paula, Havana File:Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula, Havana.jpg File:Iglesia de San Francisco de Paula, Havana.2.jpg File:Iglesia San Francisco de Paula en La Habana, Cuba.jpg, Ministerio de Obras Públicas, Taller fotográfico_2 March, 1946

References

External links

* {{Havana landmarks Buildings and structures in Havana Religious buildings and structures in Havana Churches in Havana Roman Catholic churches in Havana 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Cuba Tourist attractions in Havana History of Havana