In Spanish, "dar un paseo" means to take a leisurely stroll. Today, with this post, I invite you to "dar un paseo" with me along one of Havana, Cuba’s most popular avenues, the Paseo del Prado.

This past summer, I was one of the lucky art librarians that traveled to Havana as part of this year’s Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA) study tour, organized by the International Relations Committee (IRC). It was a jam-packed week during which we explored and learned about the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, cultural institutions, and Cuba’s artistic culture. With Hispanic Heritage Month kicking off, I think this is an opportune time to share a bit of what we learned during our trip to the Cuban capital by strolling down this famous avenue and exploring some of the city's history and architecture.

The Paseo

The Paseo del Prado is a tree-lined street (not to be confused with the Paseo del Prado in Madrid, Spain) that dates back to 1772 and is one of the oldest streets in Havana. It runs north-south from the Malecón (a six-lane avenue that runs along the coastline) to the Parque de la Fuente de la India.

Throughout its existence, the avenue has been known by different names, including Alameda de Extramuros, Paseo de Isabella II, and Paseo de Martí (as pictured below). It wasn’t until French landscape architect Jean-Claude Nicolas Forestier redesigned the avenue in 1928 that we would get the marble and stone benches, as well as the bronze lions that we see today. Walking along, you do notice the similarities between the Paseo and the popular avenues of Europe (for me, Las Ramblas in Barcelona comes to mind).

On June 2, twenty art librarians descended onto Old Havana and had the pleasure of staying in a hotel situated on the Paseo del Prado. The hotel, today known as the Hotel Sevilla, first opened in 1908, and the first architects had envisioned it with an Andalusian theme. The original structure had a Moorish Revival style architecture; today you can still see that reflected in the hotel’s main entrance and lobby.

In 1919, with a growing interest in Cuba as a vacation destination, the American corporation Bowman-Biltmore Hotels purchased the hotel. They renamed it the Hotel Sevilla-Biltmore and, in 1924, enlisted the services of the New York architectural firm Schultze & Weaver (who were gaining popularity for their luxury hotels) to renovate it.

With the boom of American tourism to the island, a ten-story tower was added, with the top floor serving as a rooftop ballroom where elaborate parties were hosted. American tourists looking for leisure and entertainment, associated with the laid-back feeling of the islands, enjoyed live Cuban and American music, dancing, and the legal sale of alcoholic beverages (illegal in the U.S. at the time). Today, the ballroom is the location of  the La Torre Del Oro Roof Garden restaurant, which served as the meeting place for our daily complimentary breakfast.

On our first full day in Havana, the group was treated to a walking tour of Old Havana. We met our tour guide "Ale" in the Andalusian-style lobby of our hotel at 9 AM and headed south on the Paseo del Prado. As a major avenue, the Paseo serves as a great location for people-watching. The trees that line both ends of the terrazzo pavement allow for families to hang out, children to play soccer, and skateboarders to practice their skills. It is also a great place for artists to sell and showcase their work.
 

The Parque Central

Further south is the Parque Central (Central Park). It's not all that big (more reminiscent of a small city park), but the park is one of the most recognizable parts of Havana due to its central location, the iconic architecture surrounding the park, the classic cars that park alongside, and the statue of Cuba’s national hero, José Martí.

Surrounded by beautiful palm trees, and in front of José Martí, the group received a history lesson about the park and surrounding architecture. Like the street name, the architecture has changed over the years. One of the oldest structures still in existence is the Hotel Inglaterra, originally designed in the neoclassical style, and the oldest hotel in Cuba. It first opened on December 23, 1875, has served as host to world-renowned intellectual figures (Gabriela Mistral, Ruben Dario) and has played a role in important historical events.

For example, on April 26, 1879, in the hotel’s El Louvre Café, Martí gave a speech honoring the Cuban journalist Adolfo Marquez Sterling. Martí had no idea that one day that same street would bear his name.

The postcard above, from 1904, shows the hotel as the center building in the background. In front of the building, we can see a pedestal where the statue of Isabella II of Spain once stood. The statue was removed in 1899 during the US intervention in Cuba that began after the Treaty of Paris came into effect. That same year, the newly independent nation held a survey in the Cuban journal El Fígaro, asking the people which historical figure should be erected in that space. In 1905, a year after this postcard was published, a statute of José Martí was erected. Today it is the oldest statue of Martí on the island.

To the left of the Hotel, we can see the Tacón Theatre. During its existence, the theater served as one of the most luxurious spaces in Havana. Today, in its place stands the Gran Teatro de La Habana (Great Theatre of Havana). This Neo-Baroque style building opened its doors in 1915 as the Galician Centre of Havana. It was the building that caught my eye among all the structures that surround the park. This is probably in large part due to the imposing facade and sculptures that adorn it.

The sculptures were commissioned to Italian sculptor Giuseppe Moretti and represent: Charity, Education, Music, and Theater. Today, it is the current home to the Cuban National Ballet. As irony would have it, we were unable to attend a performance since the ballet was scheduled to perform in New York.

The Explanada del Capitolio

As we continue our stroll south on the Paseo, we see the National Capitol Building, otherwise known as El Capitolio (its dome bears a striking resemblance to the U.S. Capitol). The structure was constructed in 1929 and was meant to serve as the seat for the two Cuban chambers of Congress. However, after the 1959 revolution, it was repurposed as the headquarters of the Cuban Academy of Sciences. In the last decade, the Cuban government has undergone a restoration process so it can serve its original purpose. During our walking tour, we did notice scaffolding surrounding the dome.

The Parque de la Fuente de la India

The Paseo ends at the Parque de la Fuente de la India. In the park is a white marble statue that was transported from Italy and is the work of sculptor Giuseppe Gaggini. The Neoclassical statue is supposed to represent the indigenous woman "Habana," the wife of the cacique "Habaguanex" and the namesake of the city. Cuban legends tell of an indigenous woman sitting in the harbor, noticing the Spanish ships approaching. With a circular motion, she pronounces the word "Habana," which lead the Spanish to believe she was referring to the area around them.

Thank you for joining me as we strolled along one of the main attractions in Havana, the Paseo del Prado and its four sections: the Paseo, the Parque Central, the Explanada del Capitolio and the Parque de la Fuente de la India. It was an exciting opportunity to stroll down the streets of a city that once served as the key to the Indies, and I am grateful for this opportunity to share some of it with all of you…

If you are planning a trip, or just interested in learning something new about a particular place, why not see how we at NYPL can help? This blog post was researched using resources from within the NYPL Research Collections, and most of the images come from the Wallach Division of Art, Prints & Photographs. Come by to visit us.
 

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