economic achievements of immigrant
groups.

To establish this area as the new city center, important new buildings
were constructed interspersed with green space. The Lovers Park replaced
the jail at the entryway to the Prado public walk. Also built were the
Presidential Palace, known today as the Revolution Museum; the Bacardí
office building, a magnificent example of Havana art-deco; the rationalist
style of the Palacio de Bellas Artes; and the neoclassical Capitol, built
very much in the look of the U.S. Capitol but whose dome is 3 feet taller.

Cuba founded its first School of Architecture in 1900, coinciding with
many Catalonian immigrants coming from Spain and becoming involved in
architecture. While they needed new buildings built fairly quickly, they
did so without relying on steel or concrete, instead applying the Catalonian
style of vaulted ceilings.

By the close of the 19thcentury (and well before 1959), the architecture
of Old Havana began its descent into decay. Wealthy inhabitants preferred
the modern housing construction in the Vedado and Carmelo districts, where
the trend was towards urban development with larger garden and green space.
The old mansions were split into flats, with spaces subdivided into rooms
for rent. Eventually, this was to become the most typical housing model
of Old Havana.

What is known today as the historical center of Havana includes the area
of the original quarter enclosed by the city walls. A master plan was
created, with guidance from Spain, to integrate revitalization of Havana's
historic center using a development strategy that balances social, cultural
and economic interests. Administration of the 242-block historical center
of Havana, with 900 of its 4,000 buildings of high heritage value, includes
the training and hiring of