Fraternity Park

This area of ​​the city, so busy today, for centuries was a site rarely frequented by the people of Havana. It is said that they were swampy and mangrove lands, and then area of ​​estancias with abundant woodland.

Towards 1790 it becomes a field of military exercises that is extended in 1793 from a project of the Belgian engineer Agustín Cramer. This function gave a certain hierarchy within the urban space of the colonial city, in spite of still offering a wild image.

Bishop Espada improves his lighting, woodwork and layout; Corresponding to the Captain General Don Miguel Tacón (1834-1838) to overcome these modifications to include the area, aware of its excellent location and centrality, within its program of beautification of the city.

Tacón reforms the Campo de Marte delimiting its perimeter by placing an iron grate and remodeling its interior. According to the architect Felicia Chateloin: "To the military polygon opened majestic doors at each cardinal point, crowned by shields of arms and denominated them with the names of relevant figures; At the main entrance he gave his name, the logical behavior of every good megalomaniac. "So he called the North, Cortes; To the South, Pizarro; To the East, Tacón; And to the West, Columbus. The first park was erected in 1892 to commemorate the fourth centenary of the discovery of America.

During the first American intervention, it was used as a military camp and several units of the occupation troops were located there. In the first years of the Republic, established in May 1902, stonecutters, avenues and fountains were built, and there were even intentions of a zoological garden, but the 1926 cyclone turned it into a rustic and desolate place.

At present this space brings together a large number of American cars with 50 years in tow and perfectly preserved. The Cuban mechanical artisans strive with more ingenuity than original tools and pieces to keep these relics alive.

Among the pieces that can be seen on the street and parked in this park, you can find for example a Chevrolet BelAir of 57, a Cadillac Eldorado of 56, a Ford Fairline of 55 and even some Oldsmobile Rocket of 53.
Any of these cars outside Cuba, would be played by collectors in the United States or Europe. And they are here, under the inclement sun of Havana, watching time go by, perfectly parked in line to be admired.

 

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