Torre Cuscatlán (''Cuscatlán Tower'' in English; formerly known as Torre Democracia or ''Tower of Democracy'') is an

office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

and is one of the tallest buildings in El Salvador located in the

Antiguo Cuscatlán Antiguo Cuscatlán ''(colloquially known as Antiguo)'' is a municipality in the La Libertad department of El Salvador, and its eastern tip lays in San Salvador Department part of the Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, southwest of San Salvado ...

. Finished in 1989, it is 79 meters high and has 19 floors. Ricardo Jiménez Castillo, who is considered one of the most representative architects of El Salvador, was in charge of the building's design. It is influenced by modern style, using a complete glass cladding for the exterior. The main characteristic of its design is the 3 setbacks covered with plants that run along with the height of the building. The materials used to construct the tower were aluminum, reinforced concrete, and glass. The building was the tallest in El Salvador from 1989 to 2009 when the Torre Cuscatlán lost the title to the Tower Pedregal. As of 2022, It is currently the 3rd tallest building in El Salvador.

History

Construction for the tower began in 1988 during the presidency of

José Napoleón Duarte José Napoleón Duarte Fuentes (23 November 1925 – 23 February 1990) was a Salvadoran politician who served as President of El Salvador from 1 June 1984 to 1 June 1989. He was mayor of San Salvador before running for president in 1972. He l ...

and costed around 10 million colónes. Construction finished in 1989 along with the opening of the building. During the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front The Farabundo Ma ...

, the guerrilla group known as FMLN tried to topple it multiple times, although was unsuccessful in doing so and only achieved shattering most of the glass-covered surface. The tower was named Torre Democracia until 1998 when the building was sold to Bank Cuscátlan and was renamed Torre Cuscatlán until July 2007 when Bank Cuscatlán was bought by Citibank was then renamed Torre Citibank El Salvador. In 2016, it was once again called Torre Cuscatlán, when the name of Bank Cuscatlán was renamed in the hands of Grupo Terra, a Honduran group. Financial Investments Imperia Cuscatlán, which is a subsidiary of Grupo Terra, was responsible for the acquisition of Citigroup shares.

References

Buildings and structures in San Salvador Skyscrapers in El Salvador Buildings and structures completed in 1989 Office buildings completed in 1989 {{ElSalvador-struct-stub