A tour by architectural Cartagena

During the last week of March, I got the chance to check the architectural scene on Cartagena de Indias.

I was amused with each wall, door, window, or stone; as well as the old bars, halls, ramps, staircases, railings, and with every minimum architectural, construction and decorative detail. The old walls, the forts, the Colonial houses and its balconies, the churches and the monumental buildings… I shot all of them, on a tour that was recorded on my memories.

Even though I didn’t have the opportunity to make a proper schedule, whether it was arranged by streets or squares, I know that the few, but meaningful places that I could visit, helped me out to feel the Colonial architectural heritage of the city.

My biggest surprise, was the sighting of the colonial houses, the constituent elements of the city’s architecture. The balconies are an important part of the architectural design in most of the colorful houses at the Historical Center, which is a Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The tropical flowers that embellish them, drew my attention, and I’m sure they did too on hundreds of passers by that stand amazed before such beauty. You have to look upwards in Cartagena. It is a mandatory exercise if you want to be delight with the colorful colonial balconies, full of trinitarias, coralitos and veraneras (types of flowers).

I was given the chance to walk into one of these houses, exactly where a mall is today established, at la Calle de la Moneda. When I was inside, I realized that they were built to deal with the heat. Indoor patios with lots of plants predominate, as well as the presence of arches, wood balconies and cisterns. The houses’ facades on the Walled City show an almost unique compositional pattern.

I am sure that every Historical Center construction can reach an architectural richness difficult to match.

Casa San Pedro

My tour began in the Plaza de San Pedro. While I was in there, a local guide nearby explained to a group of tourists how this beautiful two-story building, where the San Pedro restaurant operates today, is located just on the square known, on Colonial times, as Plazuela de San Ignacio, and later as Plazuela de San Juán de Dios. The facade has openings finished in semicircular arches. At the top level there are balconies and grandstands with columns holding some rooftops. This square is full of pigeons that flutter everywhere.

Casa Santa Teresa

From la Plaza de San Pedro, I went on to see the beautiful infrastructure of the Santa Teresa Hotel, located on the square which has the same name. Someone close to the hotel, told me that the first religious convent that was erected in the city, was built there in 1606. Nowadays the building stands out for the architectural quality of its five floors, and the elements of different eras, such as the colonial arcade of the first level.

Museo Naval del Caribe

In the same square, the Museo Naval del Caribe caught my attention. There is a wing that faces the old wall, and it still keeps its Colonial style with wooden pilasters, on the first floor, and wooden balconies with canopies, in the second. According to my research, this colonial building served as a house for the wounded on the Spanish and Patriotic side, since the San Juan de Dios, Hospital for the poor, used to work in there.

Banco de la República

When I got to the bordering walls that frame the Historical Center, I decided to take my way back towards la Plaza de Bolivar. At this place, located in one of the four corners, you can find el Banco de la República. This sober building, designed by the Belgian professor, Joseph Martens, in 1926, has a cream-colored facade with a tripartite layout, where rows of windows, balconies and half-point arches, are elegantly organized (from top to bottom). It is a building with visible European style that can be appreciated any afternoon while reading quietly in the square.

Casa Marqués de Premio Real

Trying to keep on the road, getting oriented by the downtown squares, which I must admit made me go back to the beginning at every time, I headed towards la Plaza de la Aduana, just in time to run into the Casa Marqués de Premio Real. In this beautiful building, which stands out in the square for its striking yellow color, it used to live el Marqués de Premio Real, and later it was the seat for the British Consulate. Today it hosts the headquarters for  the Bolivar Branch of the SENA (technical college). It is a very tall house, without mezzanines, and with central access. It still preserves the vestibule that is related to the patio, through an arcade, and with the services and kitchen units in the lateral bays of the patio. I was impressed with the stone facade and the four bodies balconies. It is the picture you can not miss: The nice city square in the background, vehicles driving by, and the traditional ice cone cars, that stand out as little children toys.

Portal de los Dulces

When I left the Plaza de la Aduana towards the Torre del Reloj, I arrived to the Portal de los Dulces. I was marveled at the harmony of the buildings, as well as the long archery from one tip to the other, holding the unit together. Although the design of the balconies stands out aesthetically, they are best enjoyed if you eat a typical sweet to complete the synesthesia.

Escuela de Bellas Artes

New day, new square. To begin with the second part of my journey, I settled in the Plaza de San Diego, formerly called Plaza de Bahámon. It changed its name because of the construction of the designated cloister, known as the San Diego Convent of Recoletos. This cloister still preserves the pointed arches in the main entrance and the monolithic columns. After Colombia’s Independence, it worked as a prison, nautical school, electrical plant and, finally, as an asylum. Nowadays, it is the home of the Escuela de Bellas Artes. As Moliére once said: every great man had a grain of madness mixed with his science.

Universidad de Cartagena

Taking a different road, I searched for the Calle de La Universidad with Calle de La Soledad, where I found another outstanding building. It used to serve as a convent for the Augustinian community, and nowadays it is the seat of the Universidad de Cartagena. With a beautiful panoramic view on its central square, I had the time of taking some amazing selfies. From the past, the colonial structure of the cloister, on both levels, it has been kept. The church was adapted as a main classroom, and the outside facade is composed of ornamental elements, from different origins, and stylistic tendencies.

Las Bóvedas

When I arrived to Las Bóvedas, I was surprised by this building’s colorful symmetry. It was built over a period of eight years, and together they constitute a set of 23 half-barrel vaults, that were intended to protect the Plaza from bombs. With its 47 arches, designed in masonry, Las Bóvedas now function as a mall of small tourist shops, where artisanal items from all over Colombia are exhibited.

Colegio Salesiano

In front of las Bóvedas, you can find the building of the Salesian school, which stands just as it was built at the beginning of the twentieth century. There are several points to highlight: The ornamentation on the drafts that allow the correct ventilation, the cover of two waters, the longitudinal plinth of the facade of the building, the cornice, the rectangular windows, and the roof.

Teatro Adolfo Mejía

Finally, by following the path of the old walls, I reached my final destination: The Teatro Adolfo Mejía. This theater, which was initially conceived as a church, was adapted in such manner on November the 11 th of 1911. Still unfinished, it was launched as a Municipal theater. Although outwardly the three-volume facade and the attic, also divided, stand out, the true beauty of the theater lies on its interior. A wonderful work on wood constitutes the grandstands, balconies and lattices of the boxes, which in turn, where assembled in the shape of a horseshoe. They are protected under the roof painted by the maestro Enrique Grau. A crimson red place, full of muses and art that lends itself as a setting for the artistic and cultural display of Cartagena.

Source: Guía Elarqa