is a fine lighthouse, some good wharves, and a large
floating dock.
T he city of Havana has an exceedingly picturesque
appearance from the bay, its low buildings being
mostly of white and yellow stone, or stuccoed over
and tinted with pink, blue, and green, but the
background is somewhat flat and tame. In the old
time of peril from prowling enemies, a wall was built
about the city, and though this was demolished in
1863 the intramural and extramural city are still
spoken of. The former is the old part, and its
streets are narrow, with sidewalks that afford a footing
for but a single line of passers, and on a close
view it seems shabby, dirty, and overcrowded. The
chief public buildings are the great yellow palace of
the governor-general on the Plaza de Armas, the
bishop’s palace, the university, the cathedral built by
the Jesuits in 1724 and containing within its unattractive
walls some richly frescoed spaces and costly
altars, the old church of San Juan de Dios dating from
1573, and that of San Felipe,which has a large library.
T he chief monuments are the structure which long
purported to contain the remains of Columbus, and
the statue of Ferdinand V I I . on the Plaza de Armas.
T he Prado or Paseo Isabel is a fine boulevard laid
out in the last century, with the little Parque Central
at its beginning. The Paseo Tacón, the gardens
of L o s Molinos, with their grand avenues of palm,
the botanical gardens, and spacious suburban villas
form attractive features of the city. There are also
three theatres and a grand opera house ; a number
of good hotels and many lively cafés. But Havana