Government Building sights in Caribbean Islands
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Us Interests Office
Set up in 1977 during a brief thaw in Cuban-American relations under President Jimmy Carter, the US Interests Office remains a huge source of controversy between the two countries, with the Cubans accusing its US neighbor of sponsoring all kinds of political dissent across the island from behind its heavily guarded doors. Surrounded by billboards displaying hysterical graffiti that liken George W Bush to Adolf Hitler, the building is the site of some of the worst tit-for-tat finger wagging on the island. Facing the office on the Malecón is the Plaza Tribuna Anti-Imperialista, built during the Elián González affair to host major in-your-face protests (earning it the local…
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Gordon House
Jamaica’s parliament meets at Gordon House, immediately north of Headquarters House. The rather plain brick-and-concrete building was constructed in 1960 and named after national hero the Right Excellent George William Gordon (1820–65). You can visit Gordon House by prior arrangement to watch how the Jamaican parliament conducts business. The legislature has a single chamber, where the House of Representatives and the Senate meet at different times – the former at 2pm on Tuesday (and sometimes, during pressing business, on Wednesday at the same hour), and the latter at 10am on Friday. When the legislature is not in session, the marshal sometimes lets visitors in at his …
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El Capitolio
Sandwiched between Av Muñoz Rivera and Av Ponce de León, just east of Fuerte San Cristóbal, is El Capitolio of the commonwealth. Resembling a smaller, Romanesque version of the US Capitol, the building commands an authoritative position in Puerta de Tierra overlooking the wave-lashed coast. The much-revered constitution of the commonwealth, which moved the island a step closer to its citizens’ dreams of freedom from colonialism in 1951, is on display inside the 80ft rotunda. Regular sessions of the legislature meet inside, while rallies for and against statehood occur outside every time the government calls for an island-wide plebiscite on the issue.
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Capitolio Nacional
The incomparable Capitolio Nacional is Havana’s most ambitious and grandiose building, constructed after the ‘Dance of the Millions’ had gifted the Cuban government a seemingly bottomless treasure box of sugar money. Similar to the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, but (marginally) taller and much richer in detail, the work was initiated by Cuba’s US-backed dictator Gerardo Machado in 1926 and took 5000 workers three years, two months and 20 days to build at a cost of US$17 million. Formerly it was the seat of the Cuban Congress but, since 1959, it has housed the Cuban Academy of Sciences and the National Library of Science and Technology.
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Comité Central del Partido Comunista de Cuba
A long, uninspiring concrete structure that glowers from behind the Martí memorial, the modern HQ of the Cuban government doesn’t match the architectural splendor of the Capitolio or the Presidential Palace. This is where the affairs of the Cuban government are sorted out and where the elusive Fidel maintains an office. Not surprisingly, it’s strictly out of bounds for foreigners (and most Cubans, for that matter).
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Palacio de las Convenciones
Also known as the Havana Convention Center, the Palacio de las Convenciones is one of Cuba’s most dramatic modern buildings. Built for the Nonaligned Conference in 1979, the four interconnecting halls contain a state-of-the-art auditorium with 2101 seats and 11 smaller halls. The 589-member National Assembly meets here twice a year and the complex hosts more than 50,000 conference attendees annually.
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House of Assembly
On the eastern side of Parade Square is the redbrick House of Assembly, erected in 1762 and today housing the offices of the St Catherine Parish Council. It has a beautiful wooden upper story with a pillar-lined balcony. The Assembly and Supreme Court sat here in colonial days, when it was the setting for violent squabbles among feuding parliamentarians.
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Courthouse
The town’s restored courthouse has limestone balustrades and a clapboard upper story topped by a clock tower supported by Corinthian columns. The clock was sent to Lucea in 1817 by mistake – it was actually intended for the Caribbean island of St Lucia. It has supposedly worked without a hitch ever since.
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Viejo Alcaldía
The old city hall, which acts as a dividing line between the city's two central squares, is a classic example of a 19th-century colonial municipal building with its stately façade and cool inner courtyard. The building currently serves as a police station and the headquarters for San Germán's rather low-key tourist office.
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Casa Rosa
The tropical villa in the foreground of the field leading up to El Morro is the Casa Rosa. Built as a barracks for the Spanish militia in the early 19th century, this house long served as officers' quarters. The structure has since been restored and now serves as a plush day-care facility for the children of government employees.
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Courthouse
The Courthouse was rebuilt in limestone and red brick after being destroyed in the 1865 rebellion. Bogle is buried beside the courthouse alongside a mass grave holding the remains of many slaves who lost their lives in the rebellion. The spot is marked by a moving memorial dedicated to 'those who love freedom.'
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Palacio de Justicia
The Palacio de Justicia was taken by fighters led by Raúl Castro during the Moncada attack. They were supposed to provide cover fire to Fidel’s group from the rooftop but were never needed. Many of them came back two months later to be tried and sentenced in the court.
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Alcaldía
One of the highlights of the plaza is the Alcaldía, which dates from 1789 and has twin turrets resembling those of its counterpart in Madrid. This building houses the office of the mayor of San Juan and is also the site of periodic exhibitions.
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Antigua Casa de Aduana
The Antigua Casa de Aduana is housed in an elaborately carved former customs house and filled with Morse memorabilia. Be sure to call ahead, as hours are varied and seasonal, and the building is often closed for ‘renovations.’
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Courthouse Ruins
Moving to the south side of Parade Square, you pass the fenced-off Courthouse Ruins, destroyed in 1986 by fire. The Georgian building dates from 1819, when it was used as a chapel and armory, with the town hall upstairs.
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courthouse
The most interesting building is the courthouse, built in 1925 at the junction of Great George and Rose Sts, where there's a fountain made of cast iron, inscribed with the words, 'Keep the pavements dry.'
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Palacio de Gobierno
The southern side of Parque Martí is dominated by the red dome of the Palacio de Gobierno, where the provincial government, called the Poder Popular Provincial, holds forth (no visitors).
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Gobierno Provincial
The Hellenic Gobierno Provincial is an building from Cuba’s 20th-century neoclassical revival. It’s still the seat of the provincial assembly.
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National Commercial Bank Building
King St retains many of its beautiful old buildings. Note the decorative carvings and long Corinthian columns at the National Commercial Bank building.
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Skull Point
About 1km west of Mile Gully, at Skull Point, is a venerable blue-and-white 19th-century police station and courthouse at the junction for Bethany.
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Poder Popular
The neoclassical Poder Popular is a municipal government building which you can admire from the outside.
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Palacio de Justicia
The imposing Palacio de Justicia, opposite the Teatro Sauto, was first erected in 1826 and rebuilt between 1908 and 1911.
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Russian Embassy
The Stalinist obelisk that dominates the skyline halfway down Av Quinta is the Russian Embassy.
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Alcaldía
The 19th-century Alcaldía was undergoing renovation at the time of research.
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