El Capitolio - La Habana, Cuba
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N 23° 08.124 W 082° 21.547
17Q E 360845 N 2559157
El Capitolio, or National Capitol Building, is located on Paseo del Prado in Havana, Cuba.
Waymark Code: WMVA3Z
Location: Cuba
Date Posted: 03/21/2017
Views: 4
Havana's impressive Capitolio Nacional has been under renovation for over four years now and is expected to reopen by 2018.
Inaugurated in 1929, the Capitolio Nacional was the seat of Cuba’s Congress until Fidel Castro took power in 1959. The building went on to serve as the headquarters of the Sciences Academy and Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment (CITMA) until these government bodies were re-located to undertake the building’s restoration, after years of neglect and deterioration of its outer structures.
Restoring the dome’s former splendor is perhaps the most challenging part of the repair work, requiring a special degree of care from those tasked with refurbishing the 43-thousand-square-meter edifice.
But other parts of the buildings are also in urgent need of attention. Years of humidity and water leaks have taken their toll on several of the building’s halls, where the deterioration is evident.
Construction workers are repairing all of the outdoor woodwork, which extends towards the facade and inner courtyards, and are replacing the long thin bricks which line the building’s ceiling.
The old coat of waterproofing that protected the north end of the vault over the Salón de los Pasos Perdidos (Hall of Lost Steps) is being removed. A similar coat is being tried on the south end of the vault. This hall is one of the Capitolio’s most majestic areas, boasting massive bronze lamps, lavish capital stones and columns, and 70 different types of marble.
In addition to this, the contractors have conducted a thorough study of the building’s metallic structures, which, according to civil engineer Osmany Rodríguez, show varying degrees of corrosion and will require painstaking labor. A Diagnostics Team has been tasked with evaluating each and every one of the Capitolio’s building components, be them made of wood, stone or metal.
Our photos were taken on a rainy day of January 29, 2017.
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