Calle Reina

CA3
Famous Street
CA Ranking: 3
From Prado to Belascoaín
  • This street stretches for eleven blocks from Amistad to Belascoaín (Padre Varela) streets. It was originally called Camino de San Antonio Chiquito or Camino de San Luis Gonzaga by locals. Later, people started calling it El Mentidero (Spanish for “place for liars”) because politicians at the time used to give speeches here. After being renovated in 1844, the street was renamed Reina in honor of Queen Isabel II. In 1918, it was renamed as Avenida Bolívar, but Habaneros have kept calling it Reina.

    There are several notable colonial houses on Reina Street. There are also Art Nouveau buildings such as the house featuring the Cetro de Oro (Golden Scepter) and Casa Crusellas, which features modern elements in its interiors. At the corner with Gervasio Street is the Gothic Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Church built by the Jesuits between 1914 and 1923. There are also examples of Art Deco homes and public buildings, such as the Reina movie theater and the Ultra Department Store.

    
  • Plaza del Cristo

    Plaza del Cristo  LH 4

    The mid-17-century plaza takes its name from the Iglesia del Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje. It was first known as Plaza Nueva taking the name of what is now known as Plaza Vieja. For a while it was know …

    Sloppy Joe’s Bar

    Sloppy Joe’s Bar  LH 5-

    6pm is Sloppy Joe cocktail hour again at the original Sloppy Joe’s saloon, an iconic Cuban bar that reopened Friday April 12, 2013 after a nearly 50-year break in its original location. The restoratio …

    Fototeca de Cuba

    Fototeca de Cuba  LH 4

      Inaugurated in 1986 to preserve, study and promote Cuba’s photographic heritage, Fototeca de Cuba, mid-way along the east side of the plaza, boasts the nation’s largest, most valuable collectio …

    Teatro Nacional de Cuba

    Teatro Nacional de Cuba  LH 4

    Opened in 1960, and reopened in 1979 after being fully restored, this is one of Havana’s most important cultural venues. It promotes dance, drama, theater for both adults and children, music and visua …

    La Terraza de Cojimar

    La Terraza de Cojimar  LH 4

    Ernest Hemingway lived in Cojimar for some years and this was his favorite restaurant there, as evidenced by the many pictures of the American author here, including one with Fidel Castro. In one of t …

    La Bodeguita del Medio

    La Bodeguita del Medio  LH 4

    Back 1942, this well-known restaurant was a small grocery store. Its owner, Ángel Martínez, began to sell food as the number of customers increased. One day, journalist Leandro Garcia, a regular costu …

    Edificio FOCSA

    Edificio FOCSA  LH 4

    Considered one of the seven wonders of Cuban civil engineering, when built, the Focsa building was among the largest reinforced concrete structures in the world. Construction works took 28 months, and …

    Teatro Martí

    Teatro Martí  LH 4

    Elegant and simple, this Romanesque-style theater opened in 1884 as Teatro Irijoa and changed its name to Teatro Martí in 1900. Because of its location in Habana Vieja and its great acoustics, it achi …

    Jardín Diana de Gales

    Jardín Diana de Gales  LH 4

    The distinctly non-communist fairytale crown atop a wrought-iron archway is something of a giveaway for one of Havana’s most delightful gardens, the Jardín Diana de Gales, inaugurated in 2000 in memor …

    Parque John Lennon

    Parque John Lennon  LH 4

    Occupying a whole block, the park delimited by 17, 15, 6 and 8 Streets had been unofficially known as John Lennon for years and had been a popular meeting place for young people and sometimes imprompt …

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