Maternidad Obrera de Marianao | |
---|---|
General information | |
Status | Occupied |
Type | Hospital |
Architectural style | Art Deco |
Address | Avenida 31 #8409, Marianao |
Town or city | Ciudad de La Habana |
Country | Cuba |
Coordinates | 23°05′20″N82°25′28″W / 23.088769°N 82.424319°W |
Completed | 1939 |
Inaugurated | September 20, 1941 |
Owner | Revolutionary government |
Technical details | |
Material | Reinforced concrete |
Floor count | 3 |
Design and construction | |
Architect(s) | Emilio de Soto y Sagarra |
The Maternidad Obrera de Marianao hospital is one of the most important children's hospitals in the Cuban capital and has become a benchmark for its central location. Designed by engineer Emilio de Soto Segura, construction began in April 1939 and was completed in less than two years as a workers' maternity hospital. [1]
The hospital was inaugurated on the 20th of September, 1941, in the presence of the then president of the republic, General Fulgencio Batista y Zaldivar and other government officials including General Staff members from nearby Camp Columbia. [1]
The Maternidad Obrera de Marianao is a milestone of modernity in Havana due to its rational and monumental expression which earned its architect the Gold Medal Award from the National College of Architects in 1942. The sculpture "Motherhood" on the main façade over the entrance and the resolutions of the entrance porch and circular lobby that run the height of the building and are topped by a skylight are elegantly located in this Art Deco building. [2]
A feature of the building is a white ceramic sculpture at the top of the entrance portico depicting a mother with a newborn son. Created by the renowned Cuban sculptor Teodoro Blanco. The hospital lobby is contoured in a way that projects movement towards the exterior. [1]
Havana 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 had a population of 2,137,847 inhabitants in 2022, and it spans a total of 728.26 km2 (281.18 sq mi) for the capital city side and 8,475.57 km² for the metropolitan zone – making it the largest city by area, the most populous city, and the second largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region.
Marianao is one of the 15 municipalities or boroughs in the city of Havana, Cuba. It lies 6 miles southwest of the original city of Havana, with which it is connected by the Marianao railway. In 1989 the municipality had a population of 133,016. Marianao is on a range of hills of about 1500 above sea level and is noted for its salubrious climate. The city dates back to 1830.
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Leonardo Morales y Pedroso was one of the most prominent Cuban architect in Cuba in the first half 20th century. In 1900 he entered and attended pre-university studies at De Witt Clinton High of New York, where he obtained a bachelor's degree. In 1909 he graduated of Bachelor in Architecture from Columbia University. After graduating, he returned to Cuba in 1909 where he worked a time in the local architect firm of Newton & Sola with the architect Thomas M. Newton, who was director of the civil construction section of the Secretary of Public Works during the 2nd American intervention in Cuba. In February 1910, he returned to the United States and obtained a master's degree (Doctor) in Architecture from Columbia University in the State of New York. After obtaining his doctorate in architecture he joined in March 1910 the architecture Company Morales y Mata arquitectos, created in 1907 by his elder brother the engineer Luis Morales y Pedroso in association with the master builder Jose F. Mata. In 1917, after having built more than 30 important buildings, they decided to separate from José Mata, who had to stop working because illness and died a short time later. The company changed its name for Morales y Compañia Arquitectos with his brother the engineer Luis Morales y Pedroso as president and Leonardo as Associate together with other 7 architects. He was able to obtain noteworthy real estate commissions partly because of his family's origin, good social connections and social standing in Havana high society. He was named by the Cuban press of the time as the "Havana's architect" and his architectural style is recognized as the "Morales style". During 50 years Leonardo Morales y Pedroso received around 250 notable architectural commissions, some of them include:
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Paseo del Prado is a street and promenade in Havana, Cuba, near the location of 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 Havana simply call it "El Prado".
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Colegio Nacional de Arquitectos de Cuba (C.N.A.C.) is a Cuban national institution based in Havana, that grew out of El Colegio de Arquitectos de La Habana.
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Hospital 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.
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El Torreón de San Lázaro is round tower of masonry built on the shore of the Caleta de San Lazaro. The Torreón de San Lázaro is approximately 4.57 metres (15.0 ft) in diameter and 9.14 metres (30.0 ft) high with embrasures along its wall at the intermediate level and a battlement parapet at the third level roof. It has a wooden entry door at ground level. With the passage of time, the San Lazaro cove was filled and the tower was included in a Republican-era park named after Major General Antonio Maceo. In an 1853 map of Havana it is shown as the Torreón de Vijias (lookouts). In 1982, the Torreón was inscribed along with other historic sites in Old Havana on the UNESCO World Heritage List, because of the city's importance in the European conquest of the New World and its unique architecture.
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Photographic Archive of Historic Havana]
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