The Saratoga Hotel, in a photo from the early 1950s. Then came the Cuban revolution.
The Hotel Saratoga in Havana, Cuba, which was destroyed this Friday after a huge explosion, has a long history: the building, located a few steps from the Capitol, it was built at the end of the 19th century and in the 1930s it was one of the city’s outstanding hotels.
Saratoga, located in the historic center of Havana, it is a five star hotel with 96 roomsbars, restaurants and rooftop pools with panoramic city views.
with her French neoclassical designwith steel balconies, is one of the most famous buildings in the Cuban capital.
In the ’90s, Hotel Saratoga experienced a process of decay. Now it is under construction to fix.
From the government of General Heels (1834-1838) interest to include hotels and guest houses in Havana, such as the Hotel Saratoga, became apparent. A public labor plan has promoted this type of construction since the idea was that the capital of the island was able to receive foreignersdue to the increase in foreign investment and the proliferation of businesses.
Originally, the building was made for warehouses, accommodation and guest houses. He ordered it to be built Spanish merchant Gregorio Palacios in 1879 and completed in 1880, according to the hotel’s own review.
The explosion today completely destroyed the interior of the Hotel Saratoga building. Photo: AFP
“Gregorio Palacios, a native of Santander, then one of the richest landlords in Havana and one of the largest contributors to the treasury “, explained the historian, citing the hotel’s inspection. In 1879 he signed the contract for the construction of a three-story building.
Havana postcards where Hotel Saratoga is always in a prominent place.
“The ground floor is a tobacco warehouse, a shop and entrance hall to four houses that occupy the main floor or second floor. The third is used as a hotel or guest house, with 43 rooms and a dining room, “he explained to CNN the historian Carlos Venegas
Dating Saratoga Hotel It is located on Monte Street.but it was moved in 1933 to the present building on Prado Street.
Until today’s explosion, the hotel’s façade has retained some of its original features. Building elements such as railings, wooden lattice, marble stairs and columns they show how original it was, despite major changes behind closed doors. Two examples of construction quality: the railings were made by English craftsman Guillermo Gardner and, moreover, the outer coating was not made of ordinary mortar, but with Portland cement, quite an advance for that time. .
Tracing the origin of the name cannot be verified for Cuban historians. It may be related to sentenced from Saratoga, upstate New Yorkwhere a spa with hot springs became a summer resort for many influential merchants even in the last century.
“It was very close to this town back then major battles in the American War of Independence “confirms the review, ensuring that “perhaps the relevance of its owners to the event may have influenced the selection.”
One of the curiosities featured in the review is the Anacoanas, which was the first women’s orchestra from Cuba. Music performances on the terrace attracted large numbers of people around the building in the early 20th century and right in this corner began the female orchestra.
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Source: Clarin
