WHavana was founded in the sixteenth century displacing Santiago de Cuba as the island's most important city when it became a major port for Atlantic shipping, particularly the Spanish treasure fleet.
WBarrio de San Lázaro is a former neighbourhood in Havana, Cuba. It initially occupied the area bounded by Calle Infanta to the west, Calle Zanja to the south, Calle Belascoáin to the east, and the Gulf of Mexico to the north, forming the western edge of Centro Habana. According to the 1855 Ordenanzas Municipales of the city of Havana, Barrio San Lázaro was in the Tercer Distrito and was Barrio No. 8.
WThe Siege of Havana was a successful British siege against Spanish-ruled Havana that lasted from March to August 1762, as part of the Seven Years' War. After Spain abandoned its former policy of neutrality by signing the family compact with France, resulting on a British declaration of war on Spain in January 1762, the British government decided to mount an attack on the important Spanish fortress and naval base of Havana, with the intention of weakening the Spanish presence in the Caribbean and improving the security of its own North American colonies. A strong British naval force consisting of squadrons from Britain and the West Indies, and the military force of British and American troops it convoyed, were able to approach Havana from a direction that neither the Spanish governor nor Admiral expected and were able to trap the Spanish fleet in the Havana harbour and land its troops with relatively little resistance.
WThe Battle of the Hotel Nacional de Cuba took place from October 2–3, 1933. After the Sergeants' Revolt on September 3, 1933 and the proclamation of Fulgencio Batista as the new Army Chief of Staff, replacing Julio Sanguily Echarte, the higher ranking army officials refused to recognize this proclamation. Suffering from a hemorrhaging ulcer in his stomach at the time, Sanguily would rest at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. In addition to Sanguily, the United States ambassador, Sumner Welles was also staying at the Hotel Nacional de Cuba. Given the importance of Sanguily, who in the eyes of the higher ranking army officials, was the legitimate Army Chief of Staff and on the other hand the fact that the U.S. ambassador himself was staying at Hotel Nacional, it followed that the Hotel Nacional was the perfect place for the army officials to regroup and put Ramon Grau's government in a deadlock.
WThe Campo de Marte is a park in Havana, Cuba. It was built in the 1790s as a military practice range by the Spanish governtment; it was expanded in 1793 by Belgian engineer Agustin Cramer, and later the Bishop Espada improved the lighting of the Campo. It was Captain General Don Miguel Tacón who included it within the scope of his embellishment program. The area was then fenced and four majestic gates, crowned with coats of arms, each representing an important personality: the north gate, Hernán Cortés; the south one, Francisco Pizarro; and the east and west gates, Captain General Miguel Tacón y Rosique (1834-1838), and Christopher Columbus respectively.
WThe coat of arms of Havana, Cuba, consist of three castles that represent the three original main castles which defended the city—namely, the Fuerza Castle, the Morro Castle and the Punta Castle.
WDiario de la Marina was a newspaper published in Cuba, founded by Don Nicolas Rivero in 1832. Diario de la Marina was Cuba’s longest-running newspaper and the one with the highest circulation. Its roots went back to 1813 with El Lucero de la Habana and the Noticioso Mercantil whose 1832 merger established El Noticioso y Lucero de la Habana, which was renamed Diario de la Marina in 1844. Though a conservative publication, its pages gave voice to a wide range of opinions, including those of avowed communists. It gave a platform to essayist Jorge Mañach and many other distinguished Cuban intellectuals.
WThe Battle of Havana was a naval engagement that took place between the British Caribbean squadron and a Spanish squadron based near Havana during the War of Jenkins' Ear. The battle occurred on the morning of the 12th and ended on 14 October 1748. The belligerents consisted of two squadrons under the command of Admiral Don Andres Reggio of the Spanish Navy and Admiral Sir Charles Knowles of the Royal Navy, respectively. The British succeeded in driving the Spanish back to their harbour after capturing the Conquistador and ran the vice-admiral's ship Africa on shore, where she was blown up by her own crew after being totally dismasted and made helpless. Although the advantage had clearly been with Knowles, he failed to use this to deliver a decisive blow. The battle was the last major action in the War of Jenkins' Ear which had merged with the larger War of the Austrian Succession.
WThe Havana Plan Piloto was a 1955-1958 urban proposal by Town Planning Associates which included Paul Lester Wiener, Paul Schulz, the Catalan architect Josep Lluis Sert, Seely Stevenson of Value & Knecht, Consulting Engineers seeking to combine "architecture, planning, and law," in a project heavily influenced by the politics of Fulgencio Batista which in turn were dictated by his involvement with the American Mafia and their desire to augment United States tourism, and thru his architects, the modernist principles of CIAM and the Athens Charter. The Charter got its name from the location of the fourth CIAM conference in 1933, which, due to the deteriorating political situation in Russia, took place on the in SS Patris II bound for Athens from Marseilles. This conference is documented in a film commissioned by Sigfried Giedion and made by his friend Laszlo Moholy-Nagy "Architects' Congress." The Charter had a significant impact on urban planning after World War II and, thru Josep Lluis Sert and Paul Lester Wiener, on the proposed modernization of Havana and in the effort erase all vestiges of the 16th-century city.
WThe president of the Republic Fulgencio Batista planned to expand the city to the east by building a new suburb with large avenues, and luxury buildings. A new connection between Havana Vieja and the east side cross Havana Bay was required; the new Havana Tunnel under the Havana Bay was built by the French company Societé de Grand Travaux de Marseille between 1957-58.
WHospital de San Lázaro was a hospital in the city of Havana, Cuba. It dates back to the 17th century, when it served as headquarters for some huts built near the Caleta de Juan Guillén, then known as Caleta de San Lázaro, in an area about a mile outside the city walls.
WThe 1846 Havana hurricane was the most intense tropical cyclone in recorded history for 78 years and the first known Category 5-strength hurricane to strike Cuba. The first indications of the formation of a disturbance were first noted on 5 October in the Caribbean Sea, but little else was known until the storm approached Cuba on 10 October. There, it brought extreme winds and the lowest known atmospheric pressure of the time – 938 mbar (27.70 inHg) – a record which remained unbroken until the development of a later cyclone in 1924. It soon curved toward Florida, where it maintained its intensity, continuing to rapidly hasten northward along the East Coast of the United States to New England. It entered an extratropical transition while situated over New York on 13 October, producing intense Category 2-force winds and unusually little precipitation. Eventually, the gale dissipated over the Canadian Maritimes the following day as a markedly weaker storm.
WThe Iglesia del Espíritu Santo at #161 Calle Acosta was built in 1635 on the corner of the corner of Calles Cuba and Acosta by a fraternity of Afro-Cuban ex slaves. The Espíritu Santo contains some notable paintings including a seated, post-crucifixion Christ on the right wall, and catacombs. It is considered one of the oldest temples in Havana and it is said that its main interest lies essentially in the simplicity or simplicity of the beautiful stone construction.
WThe Iglesia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje is located in Havana Vieja on Calle Cristo between Calles Lamparilla y Teniente Rey. Built at a time in which transatlantic crossings were risky, it acquired popularity during colonial times as a temple dedicated to travelers and navigators. Travelers and especially sailors would visit before leaving on a journey, and to pay their respects upon arriving back on land. Later during Cuba's republican era, the devotion to Santa Rita was added to the church.
WThe Alameda de Paula is a promenade in Havana, Cuba, and was the first to be built in the city.
WEusebio Leal Spengler was a Cuban historian. He served as the municipal historian of Havana, as well as the director of the restoration project of Old Havana. Under his oversight, the historic centre of the capital city became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. He also authored books and hosted radio and television programs that recounted the city and its history.
WThe August 1994 uprising or Maleconazo uprising was a protest against government policies in Cuba. It occurred on August 5, 1994.
WThe Palacio de Aldama is a neoclassical mansion located diagonally opposite to the old Plaza del Vapor, and in front of the old Campo de Marte; present day Parque de la Fraternidad, in Havana, Cuba. Built in 1840 by the Dominican architect and engineer Manuel José Carrera, its main facade of columns spans one block on Calle Amistad between Calles Reina and Estrella.
WThe Paseo de Tacón, or Paseo Militar, was created by the Captain General Miguel Tacón y Rosique (1834–1838) who promoted the reform of the “road” that, starting from the calles of San Luis de Gonzaga (Reina) and Belascoáin, connected to the Castillo del Príncipe. Calle Belascoáin was the edge between the city and the countryside.
WPaseo del Prado, is a promenade in Havana, Cuba near the old city wall, and the division between Centro Habana and Old Havana. Technically, the Paseo del Prado includes the entire length of Paseo Martí approximately from the Malecon to Calle Máximo Gómez, the Fuente de la India fountain. The promenade has had several names, it was renamed Paseo de Martí in 1898 with the island's independence from Spain. Despite the historic references, the people of Havan simply call it "El Prado."
WThe Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of San Cristobal de la Habana is one of three Catholic archdioceses in Cuba.
WThe Hotel Rosita De Hornedo, located in the Puntilla area of Miramar, was one of the first major buildings to be built by a private developer in the 1950s in Havana.
WSunny South, an extreme clipper, was the only full-sized sailing ship built by George Steers, and resembled his famous sailing yacht America, with long sharp entrance lines and a slightly concave bow. Initially, she sailed in the California and Brazil trades. Sold in 1859 and renamed Emanuela, she was considered to be the fastest slaver sailing out of Havana. The British Royal Navy captured Emanuela off the coast of Africa in 1860 with over 800 slaves aboard. The Royal Navy purchased her as a prize and converted her into a Royal Navy store ship, Enchantress. She was wrecked in the Mozambique Channel in 1861.