Southern Habana Vieja

The mostly residential southern half of Habana Vieja [1], south of Calle Brasil, was the ecclesiastical center of Havana [2] during the colonial era and is studded with churches and convents. Most have been restored, or are in the process. Before the Revolution, this was also Havana’s Jewish quarter [3].

Southern Habana Vieja is enclosed by Avenida del Puerto, which swings along the harborfront and becomes Avenida San Pedro, then Avenida Leonor Pérez, then Avenida Desamparados as it curves around to Avenida de Bélgica (colloquially called Egido). The waterfront boulevard is overshadowed by warehouses. Here were the old P&O docks where the ships from Miami and Key West used to dock and where Pan American World Airways had its terminal when it was still flying the old clipper flying-boats. Before World War II, when the U.S. Navy took over the docks, Calle San Isidro, which runs inland perpendicular to Desamparados, had been lined with brothels.

Calle Egido

Egido follows the hollow once occupied by [node:60567 link Habana Vieja ancient walls. It is a continuation of Monserrate and flows downhill to the harbor. The Puerta de la Tenaza (Egido, esq. Fundición) is the only ancient city gate still standing; a plaque inset in the wall shows a map of the city walls as they once were.

About 100 meters south, on Avenida de Puerto, the Monumento Mártires del Vapor La Coubre is made of twisted metal fragments of La Coubre, the French cargo ship that exploded in Havana [2] harbor on March 4, 1960 (the vessel was carrying armaments for the Castro government). The monument honors the seamen who died in the explosion.

Egido is lined with once-beautiful mid-19th-century buildings, now dilapidated. Egido’s masterpiece is the Estación Central de Ferrocarril (esq. Arsenal), or Terminal de Trenes, Havana’s Venetian-style railway station. Designed in 1910, it blends Spanish Revival and Italian Renaissance styles, and features twin towers displaying the shields of Havana and Cuba. It is built atop the former Arsenal, or Spanish naval shipyard.

On the station’s north side, the small, shady Parque de los Agrimensores (Park of the Surveyors) features a remnant of the Cortina de la Habana, the old city wall. The park is now populated by Baldwin steam trains retired from hauling sugar cane (the oldest dates from 1878). Colectivo taxis—old yanqui jalopies—park here, awaiting custom.