El Capitolio

The Cuban Academy of Sciences (Academia de Ciencias de Cuba) is an official institution of the Cuban state, with headquarters in the National Capitol building in Havana. It is described as the oldest active national academy of sciences outside Europe. The Academy is with a national scope, independent and consultative in the area of science, and the successor of the former Royal Academy of Medicine, Physical and Natural Sciences of Havana, and is also attached to the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment. The Academy represents the fields of Agrarian and Fisheries Sciences, Biomedical Sciences, Exact, and Natural Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, and Technical Sciences. Its members are nominated by scientific research institutions, universities, scientific societies as well as various other national organizations.

The Hotel Pasaje was a hotel located on Paseo del Prado between San José and Dragones, facing the National Capitol in Havana, Cuba.

Old Havana (Spanish: La Habana Vieja) is the city-center (downtown) and one of the 15 municipalities (or boroughs) forming Havana, Cuba. It has the second highest population density in the city and contains the core of the original city of Havana. The positions of the original Havana city walls are the modern boundaries of Old Havana. In 1982, Old Havana was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List, because of its unique Baroque and neoclassical architecture, its fortifications, and its historical importance as a stop on the route to the New World. A safeguarding campaign was launched a year later to restore the authentic character of the buildings.

The 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, and 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 and various designers, the modernist principles of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (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 László Moholy-Nagy The Charter had a significant impact on urban planning after World War II and, through Josep Lluis Sert and Paul Lester Wiener, on the proposed modernization of Havana and in an effort to erase all vestiges of the 16th-century city.

Havana (; Spanish: La Habana [la aˈβana] (listen)) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. The city has a population of 2.3 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region.The city of Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century. It served as a springboard for the Spanish conquest of the Americas, becoming a stopping point for Spanish galleons returning to Spain. Philip II of Spain granted Havana the title of capital in 1607. Walls as well as forts were built to protect the city.The city is the center of the Cuban government, and home to various ministries, headquarters of businesses and over 100 diplomatic offices. The governor is Reinaldo García Zapata of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC). In 2009, the city/province had the third highest income in the country.Contemporary Havana can essentially be described as three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado and the newer suburban districts. The city extends mostly westward and southward from the bay, which is entered through a narrow inlet and which divides into three main harbors: Marimelena, Guanabacoa and Antares. The Almendares River traverses the city from south to north, entering the Straits of Florida a few miles west of the bay.The city attracts over a million tourists annually; the Official Census for Havana reports that in 2010 the city was visited by 1,176,627 international tourists, a 20% increase from 2005. Old Havana was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982. The city is also noted for its history, culture, architecture and monuments. As typical of Cuba, Havana experiences a tropical climate.

Gran Teatro de La Habana is a theater in Havana, Cuba, home to the Cuban National Ballet. It was designed by the Belgian architect Paul Belau and built by Purdy and Henderson, Engineers in 1914 at the site of the former Teatro Tacón. Its construction was paid for by the Galician immigrants of Havana to serve as a community-social center. Located in the Paseo del Prado, its facilities include theatres, a concert hall, conference rooms, a video screening room, as well as an art gallery, a choral center and several rehearsal halls for dance companies. It hosts the International Ballet Festival of Havana every two years since 1960.

The Teatro Tacón (Tacón Theatre) opened in 1838 in Havana, Cuba. Its auditorium contained 2,750 seats. It was built by Pancho Martí, a businessman from Barcelona who moved to Havana. In 1847 Bottesini's opera Cristoforo Colombo premiered there. By 1855, so many people attended events that the city issued parking regulations for carriages on performance nights.

The Parque de la Fraternidad (formerly the Campo de Marte) is a park in Havana, Cuba. It was built in the 1790s as a military practice range by the Spanish government; 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 (Spanish: Capitanía General de Cuba) Miguel Tacón y Rosique (1834-1838), and Christopher Columbus respectively. In 1928 it became the Parque de la Fraternidad.

Hotel Inglaterra is the oldest hotel in Havana. It is located at Paseo del Prado #416 between San Rafael and San Miguel.

On May 6, 2022, Hotel Saratoga, a luxury hotel in the Old Havana municipality in the city of Havana, Cuba, suffered a suspected gas explosion that damaged large portions of the building as well as surrounding infrastructure. 47 people died and 52 were injured. The hotel was undergoing renovations and there were no guests; however, there were fifty-one workers inside.

The Hotel Saratoga is located on the Paseo del Prado, in Old Havana near the Fuente de la India. Built in 1880 for warehouses, it was remodeled as a hotel in 1933 and reopened in 2005. A gas explosion occurred at the hotel on 6 May 2022, killing forty-seven people.

Fuente de la India ("Fountain of the Indian woman") is a fountain by Giuseppe Gaggini in Havana, Cuba, at the south extreme of Paseo del Prado, about 100 m south of El Capitolio, between Monte and Dragones Streets. The figure represents the Indian woman "Habana" in whose honor Havana was named.Originally (1837) it was placed outside the city walls at the end of the Alameda which today is the Paseo del Prado. From 1803 until that time a statue of King Carlos III was located there. Its opening was an event in the then still young town of San Cristobal. In 1863, by the resolution of Council, the fountain was moved to the Parque Central. In 1875 it was put back in its current position, i.e. its initial one but facing towards the then called Campo de Marte. In 1928, when the adjacent area became the Plaza de la Fraternidad, the statue was rotated 90° to face the new Capitolio building.