El Vedado, ciudad jardín temprana

Description

Since the 16th century, the area now known as El Vedado was an uninhabited zone, considered dangerous and its access was forbidden for military reasons. Only a few isolated sugar mills existed at the time.

In 1859, the first legislation for the urban development of the property El Carmelo was passed as an expansion of the city existing at the time. The project, prepared and submitted by military engineer Luis Iboleón Bosque, earmarked an area to the East of the river called La Chorrera (today Almendares). The plan was to parcel an area of 156 hectares into 105 square blocks of 100 m by 100 m, thus creating a perfect grid of 16 m long streets 16 m, oriented approximately 45 degrees in relation to the North. The main street of the new urban development would be a 25 metres wide avenue through which the urban railroad (streetcar) would circulate. A relevant innovation was the arborisation of the wide and straight streets of El Carmelo and its promenading avenues with trees as well.

Another difference with respect to the original old city was that the streets were to be identified by numbers (odd numbers the streets parallel to the coast line, and even numbers the streets perpendicular to the coast line). Square blocks would be subdivided into twelve rectangular plots all equal in dimensions except for the ones on the corners which were bigger. Strict architectural and urban codes established mandatory construction of certain spaces such as a four metre front porch, five metre garden (which separated the houses from the sidewalks) and landscaping of the public areas and sidewalks. The street section characteristic in El Vedado was also regulated: the streets were eight metres wide, four metres wide sidewalks with an area for circulation and a parterre. The space between the line of property and the building as such expands and the green acquires a new significance in the City.

After El Carmelo other two neighbourhoods or urban areas, El Vedado and Medina, emerged in 1860 and 1883 respectively, which later came to be known as El Vedado. Other smaller urban areas developed later following the same rules and codes.

Many wealthy families of the higher classes who used to live in El Cerro moved to El Vedado, which was advertised as an area that facilitated urban sanitation, privacy and green areas as opposed to the congested urbanization of the old city.

The architecture of El Vedado in the 19th century was characterised by beautiful neoclassical villas surrounded by lawns and gardens like the ones previously built in El Cerro. Outstanding examples of these new buildings are the González Curquejo Residence at No. 612 Línea Street built in 1880 and the Residence of Nicolás Alfonso at No. 508 Línea Street, built in 1888.

By the end of the Spanish colonial rule in Cuba in 1898, El Vedado was practically parcelled in full, except for the area limited by the river and the west wall of the Cemetery of Colón. Línea Street which ran all through El Vedado became the main way that connected the City by streetcar from 1901. Avenues Paseo, G and 23 as well as the streets L and 12 became equally important at the turn of the 20th century.

Among the most outstanding features of EL Vedado are the parks, which occupy a full square block providing a nice green view, beneficial for health and a space for community activities. Examples are the Park Mariana Grajales on 23 between C and D, the Park Villalón on Calzada, the Park on 19 between H and I, the park on 17 between 6 and 8 and the Park on 15 between 14 and 16, to mention a few.

During the first three decades of the 20th century, a number of monumental beautiful houses of eclectic style were built reflecting the wealth of their owners. Some relevant examples are, among many, the house of de Juan Pedro Baró and Catalina Lasa on Paseo between 17 and 19; the residence of Pablo Mendoza (currently the residence of the British ambassador to Cuba) on the corner of Paseo and 15; the residence of the Marquees of Avilés (today ICAP) on 17 between H and I; the Menocal Residence (today House of the Mayors) on Avenue of the Presidents (G) between 23 and 21, the residence of the Countess of Revilla de Camargo on 17 Street (currently the National Museum of Decorative Arts).

The impact of French urban landscaper J.C.N. Forestier in Havana between 1926 and 1930 is clearly appreciated in El Vedado. The stately landscape of Paseo and Avenue of the Presidents constitutes, even today a distinctive feature in the area.

New apartment buildings boomed during the 1930s mostly rented by the mid-upper class. And even though eclecticism continues in fashion, Art Deco begins to be established in a number of buildings, such as the López Serrano, built in 1932.

Precisely in 1930 the Hotel Nacional is built on the slope where previously had been the so called Battery of Santa Clara in colonial times. For the first time in Havana a new attraction for international tourism –mostly from the United States− is established. From then on, the Nacional Hotel would accommodate both Cuban and foreign personalities of culture, art, sciences and politics.

The neighbourhood accommodated as well other less favoured social sectors of the population which lived in the so called tenements, living quarters prepared in the inner areas of the square blocks to meet the requirements of the growing speculation in the real estate market.

During the 1950s, the privileged location, the development and the reputation of the neighbourhood favoured the construction of a number of modern apartment buildings (among them several high rises) comprehensively and coherently integrated into the neighbourhood grid. Condominiums, then very much in fashion, found in El Vedado a perfect site. Some major examples within Cuban architecture are Focsa, Someillán, the Retiro Médico or Naroca, now part of Havana skyline.

Furthermore, with features inherited from the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century, new fashionable areas were developed, like La Rampa a walking promenade on both sides of 23 Street ending by the sea shore. Between the 1940s and the 1950s, the area would become the new Downtown with outstanding modern buildings such as the Centro Comercial La Rampa (one of the first modern malls built in the region, today mostly occupied by airlines offices, or La Rampa Cinema. On the corner of L and 23 Streets was built in 1947 the paradigmatic compound of the CMQ, a TV and radio broadcaster. Also part of the compound is the cinema and theatre Yara (originally Warner and later Radiocentro), one of the most outstanding modern buildings in the country and the region where famous Cuban and foreign artists of the time performed.

The Habana Libre Hotel (formerly Havana Hilton) which opened in 1958, was the first Cuban high rise hotel and one of the few high rises in Havana. Considered at that time the biggest hotel in Latin America, it is another architectural landmark with beautiful artwork by well-known Cuban artists. Its façade exhibits a huge mural of great visual impact by Amelia Peláez.

Other high buildings in La Rampa are the Retiro Médico and the Retiro Odontológico on 23rd Street, both designed by architect Antonio Quintana in the 1950s. Outstanding as well for its architectural quality is the Pabellón Cuba built in 1963 on the occasion of the VII Congress of the International Union of Architects.

Several restaurants, such as La Torre, the Emperador, La Roca, El Conejito or Monseigneur and hotels such as the Nacional, the Habana Libre and the Capri, as well as Coppelia Ice Cream Parlour (known as the Cathedral of Ice Cream), contribute to the central character of the area.

Close to La Rampa is the University of Havana, witness and venue of many historic events and an excellent example of the eclecticism present in the history of Cuban architecture. Located on a hill, its wide stairs are an impressive landmark in the heart of Havana.

Furthermore, El Vedado has many cultural institutions and facilities in La Rampa, 23rd Street, Línea, Calzada and in general, everywhere in the urban grid.

The corner of 23rd and 12 Streets is extremely important in the city, not only because of the many cafés and restaurants that made the area so popular, but also because in 1961, the Socialist character of the Cuban Revolution was announced. Barely fifty meters from the corner, is the Cuban Institute of the Art and Industry of Film (ICAIC) and the Cinemateque. In short, this is a very much visited area, much more during the International Film Festival of Havana.

The former Streetcar Terminal, located at the end of Línea Street, has been preserved. The first network of streetcars reached El Vedado at the beginning of the 20th century. The facility was recently renovated and turned into a Cultural and Crafts Centre, thus playing a new and attractive role in the city. Similarly, the former Oil Factory El Cocinero ─located in the same zone─ and today known as Fábrica de Arte, a cultural multifunctional facility has become an international place dedicated to arts. The factory was the first former Cuban industrial facility renovated and assigned to socio-cultural purposes. The tall chimney, which now hosts a restaurant, of the Fábrica is an identifying element, visible from several areas of the city.

The river border at El Vedado, the mouth of the River Almendares, is a privileged site from the landscape viewpoint. The view to the sea, the Japanese garden of the 1830 Restaurant are remarkable sites. The Gran Parque Metropolitano begins there.

The Cristóbal Colón Cemetery, though not strictly part of El Vedado, is connected and related to El Vedado spatially and also dates from the same time of the expansion of the city, when El Vedado was established, and therefore is included in the nomination to the Tentative List. The huge compound is the largest in the Caribbean and one of the most important in the Latin American region. It is actually an open air funeral-museum compound which treasures numerous artworks by outstanding Cuban artists from the 19th and 20th century, such as Vilalta Saavedra, F. Boada, Rita Longa, René Portocarrero, Juan J. Sicre, Miguel Melero as well as Spaniards Mariano Benlliure and Agustin Querol.

Two of the fortresses of the Spanish military colonial system included in UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982 together with Old Havana are in El Vedado: these are the Castillo del Príncipe and the Fortín de La Chorrera.

Justification de la Valeur Universelle Exceptionnelle

The outstanding universal value of the urban area of El Vedado can be summarized in the following aspects:

-El Vedado was a pioneering experience in urban development which coincided in time with the Cerdá Plan for the expansion of Barcelona.

-Because it was mandatory to have gardens, trees and parks, El Vedado is considered a Garden City in compliance with the pioneering international experiences of the time.

-The new urban development which expanded to the west close to the sea shore in the 19th century meant a change with regards to the model of the compact city like Old Havana, protected from the sea.

-Introduced the perfect orthogonal geometry that had been so difficult to attain in many of the cities founded by the Spaniards.

-Is one of the spaces in Havana with a previously planned structure and in which development building Ordinances issued in 1861 for the city of Havana were implemented.

-The territory to the west of Havana, that included El Carmelo (1859), El Vedado (1860), Medina (1883) and Rebollo (1885), and which was later known as El Vedado as a whole, became the most important urban development in Cuba during colonial times.

-The model used for urban design proved to be extraordinarily flexible, which in turn facilitated the assimilation of many different types of buildings throughout a century and a half, maintaining at the same time in a unique manner the quality of the urban landscape from the individual neoclassical family house, going through the eclectic mansion, to the modern high rises.

-Outstanding is the coherent assimilation of La Rampa as the new city centre (downtown) which –in a large measure- displaced the previous traditional centres like Obispo, Prado or Galiano.

Criterion (ii): The development of El Vedado as an urban centre is clearly the result of the new hygienist thought that had prevailed in Europe and the United States in the 18th and 19th centuries and is at the same time one of the earliest examples of Garden City. Though it has not been demonstrated, it is possible that it was influenced in some aspects by the Cerdá Plan for Barcelona, practically coincident in time. At the same time, El Vedado influenced other urban developments in Cuba (Vista Alegre, in Santiago de Cuba, and several other neighbours in Havana habaneras such as Miramar), and in other countries in the Americas.

In El Vedado we find an exceptional cultural mix which, originated in the colonial period, absorbed the influence of 19th century Europe and the United States integrating at the same time national characteristics, thus generating a very unique identity.

Criterion (iv): El Vedado expresses, very early, the thought that would give way later to the concept of Garden City in Europe and the United States. Its orthogonal grid, with a high flexibility, and articulation and homogenisation capacity, have facilitated the assimilation and coexistence of several architectural typologies. Some of these are clearly exceptional, such as the many eclectic houses that include a tower-mirador, a relevant contribution to the exercise of design and experimentation in architectural trends in Cuba. At present, El Vedado constitutes a collection of typologies representative of the architectural evolution in Latin America through the development of modernity.

El Vedado is an exceptional example of the evolution of one of the greatest Latin American cities from the 19th century to the 20th century, shown by the integrity and authenticity of a large part of the territory. The coexistence in the same area of an orthogonal grid and the monumentality of avenues attained through the landscape design that articulates and gives a hierarchy to urban spaces has been one of the most exceptional features of El Vedado throughout its history.

Criterion (vi): El Vedado has probably been the most important cultural centre in the whole country, as several cultural or touristic institutions are located in the area, the role of which has had, historically, notable impact. Among those are:

-The University of Havana, where during the 1920s through the 1950s occurred a number of students demonstrations against the governing dictatorships with transcendent impact on other historic movements in Latin America and the

-Casa de las Américas, which has hosted many cultural events significant for Latin America, with the participation of outstanding intellectuals such as Gabriel García Márquez, Alejo Carpentier, Eduardo Galiano and others.

-The National Ballet of Cuba founded by Alicia Alonso (who according to the specialized critics was one of the most outstanding ballerinas in the world in the 20th century) has trained world famous dancers, such as, Carlos Acosta, Taras Domitro, Jorge Esquivel, Lázaro and José Manuel Carreño and others,

-The Hotel Nacional de Cuba, inaugurated in 1930 and one of the most famous in the region, designed by Mc Kim, Mead and White, has hosted a number of illustrious guests like Sir Winston Churchill, Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Errol Flynn and The visits of these famous guests has been reserved in sculptures, photographs and documents which the Hotel exhibits in a permanent gallery.

-The Cuban Institute for the Cinema Art and Industry, with a collection of Latin American newsreels and posters, both inscribed in the UNESCO memory of the World Two writers recipient of the Prince of Asturias Award from Spain, Dulce Maria Loynaz and Alejo Carpentier lived in El Vedado and wrote about the neighbourhood in their works. During his visit to Havana, Federico García Lorca spent every afternoon in the house of the Loynaz family where he met with the most outstanding intellectuals at the time. Gabriela Mistral and Juan Ramón Jiménez also visited the house of the Loynaz family in El Vedado.

Déclarations d’authenticité et/ou d’intégrité

El Vedado maintains a high degree of authenticity in spite of the damage it has suffered. The original grid, the trees, the gardens, the many parks, are still its most unique original characteristics. Equally important is its residential use that goes side by side with the services provided, though many of the large houses have become offices or ministries. Cultural traditions had not only persisted, but have grown and are carried out by other institutions.

Unfortunately, El Vedado has not received the conservation and control it deserves. Many buildings are deteriorated or have been altered and modified. Some important buildings are in danger. However, the neighbourhood still shows integrity and there are many original buildings that have outstanding exceptional value.

Comparaison avec d’autres biens similaires

El Vedado classifies as an urban centre still under represented in UNESCO World Heritage List representative, as very few cultural centres that represent the urban development of the 20th century are inscribed in the List. Neither National Tentative Lists of State parties to the World Heritage Convention include example like this.

National Tentative Lists do not either include centres that are similar to El Vedado, though others have been identified in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean that could be comparative references.

In Europe and North America:

-Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana, EEUU
-Savannah, Georgia, EEUU
-Palm Beach Mansions, Florida, EEUU
-Spain
-Malecon of Cádiz, Spain

In Latin America and the Caribbean:

-Centre of Montevideo, Uruguay
-Colonia Condesa, Mexico City
-Barrio de Polanco, Mexico City
-Merida, Mexico

In Cuba we can find influences of El Vedado on other urban centres, such as:

-Vista Alegre, Santiago de Cuba
-Miramar and Country Club, Havana