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THE
TOWN PAPER
VOL. 5, NO. 3 -- SUMMER 2003

Old Towns: Havana, Cuba

By Ken Hughes

I live in Santa Fe, founded by the Spanish in 1609. That is new by comparison
to San Cristobal de Habana, founded by the Spanish in 1519 at what is
now the site of the Plaza de Armas. By the 17th century, Havana had become
one of the Caribbean's main centers for shipbuilding and Spain's main
trans-shipment center. Anchoring a metropolis of 2 million inhabitants,
Habana Vieja, or Old Havana, retains a fascinating mix of Baroque and
neoclassical monuments, graced with plaza-centered portales (porches),
wrought-iron balconies and plazuelas (courtyards).

In its early days, Havana was not considered an important city by the
Spanish court, so it developedin a somewhat informal fashion. By 1572,
when King Philip II issued a blueprint for the design of all cities, Havana
had already grown in a different direction. Under the Laws of the Indies,
Spain required all New World cities to be built around a main plaza, with
the streets forming an outlying grid. Instead, Havana had evolved as a
multi-plaza structure with four main plazas, all featuring a church, convent
and palace, though each specialized in a particular role.

Havana's trade center status made it coveted by nations and pirates alike.
To guard against armed attacks, the town erected an impressive system
of fortresses, located at the bay side, and it surrounded itself with
high stone walls on the land side. In the 17th century, Havana's westward
growth applied its homegrown architectural codes, but with a more expansive
road