The History of Cuba, vol. 5

by Willis Fletcher Johnson

In 1689 the convent of Santa Catalina was built on the square facing O’Reilly Street, between Compostela and Aguacate Streets, the dedication of the church taking place in 1700. This convent has been famous for two centuries for its wealth, devotees vying with each other in the amount of money or property which they could contribute to the coffers of the church. It is said that $15,000 was the smallest contribution that could be accepted from any woman who chose to devote her life and fortune to the promotion of the Catholic faith and the prosperity of the Church. No limit was fixed to the amount of the individual contributions from novitiate nuns, and many of the wealthiest women of Havana society have disappeared from the social world, within its walls. The property was sold in 1917 for a million dollars and the inmates were removed to the new quarters located on the plateau in Vedado.

The picturesque church that stands on the crest of the hill in the district of Jesus del Monte was built in 1689. The view from the front of this church, looking over the city and bay beyond, is very pleasing.

An attractive church from the viewpoint of its minarets and architecture, known as Santo Angel, is located on a small hill of that name near the junction of Cuarteles with Monserrate Street, overlooking the long stretch of green sward that extends from the new Presidential Palace to the Park of Luz Caballero. This church, in spite of its name, seems to have been selected by fate to suffer a number of serious reverses. In 1828 a stroke of lightning toppled over the tall spire on its eastern front, and again in 1846 a hurricane that did but little damage to the city tore down the cupola and brought with it the entire end of the building. In spite of this however the church has recently entered into a period of prosperity and is today the center of fashionable congregations who usually assemble there for twelve o’clock late mass.

Santa Teresa was founded in 1701 and is located at Compestela and Teniente Rey Streets.

The convent of Santa Clara was built in 1664 and began with a fund of $550. It extends from Cuba to Havana Streets and from Sol to Luz Streets, covering two solid blocks of ground, and is the largest convent in the Island of Cuba. Owing to the recent increase in the price of city property, the space covered by this convent is valued at $1,500,000.

In 1704 the convent of Belen was founded at the corner of Compostela and Luz Streets, covering an entire block of ground that had served previously as a recreation park for the Bishop of Compostela. Within this convent the Jesuit Order established what was known as the “Royal College of Havana,” whence were graduated some of the city’s famous lawyers and scholars. This order maintains an Observatory and weather bureau, whence reports in regard to storms in the Caribbean are contributed to the daily papers. Belen, among the devout Catholics of Cuba, is undoubtedly one of the most popular institutions of the West Indies.

Shortly after the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson as President of the United States, Mr. William E. Gonzalez was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary from that country to the Republic of Cuba, and took up his residence in the old colonial mansion built by the Echarte family, located on the corner of Santa Catalina and Dominguez Streets. This beautiful quinta occupies a block of ground in the old aristocratic residence district of Cerro, some three miles distant from Central Park. The building, although only one story in height, is quite imposing, built of stone with white marble floors throughout, inclosing a beautiful patio that forms one of the unique and charming attractions of old-time residences in Havana. A wide marble flagged gallery runs all around this patio from which a soft subdued light enters the many rooms facing upon it. A broad porch, whose heavy flat roof is supported by long rows of stone columns, faces the south, and above it flies the Stars and Stripes from sunrise to sunset. The garden or grounds occupying the eastern half of the block are filled with beautiful shade trees and sweet scented flowers that have been brought from many parts of the world, while in front a row of stately royal palms reach up some 80 feet or more toward the blue sky.

La Chorrera, the Fort of Almandares, is a picturesque little old fort, some fifty feet square and two stories in height, built of coral rock in the year 1646, which rests upon a little islet not much bigger than the fort itself, at the eastern entrance of the Rio Almandares. Slave labor undoubtedly entered into the construction of this fort, although it is said to have cost 20,000 ducats. A flight of stone steps has been built up to the second floor that communicates with the entrance to the fort. Over this is a tablet giving the date of construction and the name of its builders.

During the siege of Havana by the British in 1762, Lord Albemarle determined to land troops west of the City in order to take advantage of Principe Heights, overlooking the capital from the west. On June 10 a portion of the British fleet began bombarding La Chorrera. Its commanders, Captain Luis de Aguiar and Rafael de Cardenas, made a very stubborn resistance, yielding only when their ammunition had been completely exhausted. This fort is easily reached by the Vedado car line, from which a short walk of two blocks brings one to the mouth of the Almandares, on which the fort is located.