The Washington union., 1858-03-28
THE CITY OF HAVANA.
Special correspondence of the picsyunel I

Special correspondence of the Picayunel
HAVANA, Feb. 25, 1858.
Havana is city of perhaps 250 900 inhabitants Its
full title, that which 1t sometimes bears in solemn Off
ci papers, is worthy of the capital of the " ever faith
l isle and of its romantic history, and in spirit
translated, the ever-loyal city of st. Chris
tophcr's haven" 1t is built upon beautiful prom
ontory, jutting far out into the sea on the Punta
side, and has greater less altitude you APP
proach or rcccdc from the shore SO gradual, in
deed is the elevation, that from the bay heights
above, from tho CahIas ortiHcatlons for instance,
street to rise above street and hoc ebovc house
with all the regularity Of seats in amphthcatrc in
general shape and outline, indeed the city presents in
bird seye view, striking resemblance thereto The town
to have been built, for the most part with
out excavation or levelling of any kind ON the
natural surface of the earth, which is hard and
firm, and, with the remarkable facilities for draining
favorable slope affords, can always be kept perfectly
drya very fortunate circumstance for city in this lati
tude and climate Torrents of rain for instance that
unfrequently fall in showers IN the tropics and
era times since arrival here have flooded the city
though the gates of Heaven were again opened, pass
away with almost the peed they came, and in but
| few moments, warn, sunny day. especially when
gentle breeze prevails almost always is the case
the streets dry before For the reason,
Also the city c with the greatest ease be kept perfect
y cleanse clean that the most exquisite cegantc need
not fear for his toilet to the polish of his boots
And to this circumstance, doubtless is due much of the
remarkable neancss and elegance which have often been
noticed here, and which may be considered distinguish
ing characteristic OF the people
The original city of Havana was, and is STILL surrounded
by moat and wall, the latter poygona the former clip
tica in fom 1000 yards by SAY 200 in diameter. IL
IVES built Immediately upon the bay, and, in its original
aud design miist have been exceedingly beau
tfu The necessities of rapidly Increasing population
however, long since occasoncd the appropriation of space
outside the walls for their accommodation that what
is now known as the 'barros erta muro or suburbs,
has three four times the extent of the original town
and grouped in the view together separated they
actu hv uOut wall and rlncis they
the appearance of two distinct cities the eiptica
the other crescent shaped, very much like the
cient capital of Austria with its suburbs but with
this difference, that Vienna is nearly conecnric III
form, The exterior town is not surrounded by wall
ditch Of any kind, but is protected in much
more in harmony with the present state Of military
science by two strong forts on the country side With
the original town it communicates by several we'll built
gates whose architectural beauties and general pctu-
resquencs add much to the pleasures of the passing av
cer but the accommodation they afford to the people of
the city must be exceedingly imperfect 1t is surprising,
indeed that these obsolete and really useless ertif
cations should have been allowed to stand long Their
removal with the filling up of the ditch would add hun
dredy of valuable lots to the available space of the city,
and at the same TIME improve its ventilation and conse-
qucntly its saubrity All things here, however, ad-
to change, and what understand to be in this
spec but common desire has not yet been grated and
probably will not be for years to come
The streets of Havana, compared with those of
American cities exceedingly narrow, though it has
number of public promcnades and drives both inside
and outside the walls which will compare with the best
in the world They are, for the most part handsomely
paved, the principal with New England granite
cut into large square blocks and very generally provi
ded with sidewalks tagged with stone from the Mexican
coast These last however, still more in
proportion than the street proper and make promena-
ding thereon anything but easy agreeable for such
unaccustoned to it. The people of the city, how
ever, have learned the art of moving freely thereon
when occasion requires and without osting but even
they, have noticed, often prefer the open street to
their chances the b,nqucttc. There is very little
walking here however, in the city properth Che tariff OF
the volantc vehicle peculiar to the place. exceeding
ly light and most people of business leisure prefer
that mode of conveyance, especially they not only
time thereby and shift to another the responsibility
of navigating streets but avoid the frequent
| ly-opprtsslve heat of a tropical sun
The houses of Havana are built for the most part OF
stone, native calcareous formation of the island found
everywhere in the greatest abundance and in many
spects exceedingly well adapted to the purpose II is
easily quarcd dressed without great expense and pos
remarkable durability in all which respects also
in its general appearance and geological formations 1t ha
striking resemblance to the far famed truvcrtine Of
which Rome built When taken from the quarry it i
soft that knife may cut it almost without bunting
the edge but placed in the wall grows harder and harder
with exposure to the atmosphere and therein Will last fol
centuries for all know, indeed forever The walls OF
the Cathedral for instance gray with years, still
stand firm aud perfect ON the day they were
erected, nor, indeed do they give promise whatever
| of crumbng decay. Asa building material in fact
fault Il coral formation it is cellular in its structure,
and when most carefully dressed often presents rough
and unseemly surface to the eye This difficulty how
ever, is by the of kind of groutiug
plaster which is made of the very fine lime OF the island
is almost durable the stone itself aud gives
markaby neat appearance 10 the city, Seen from dis
lance indeed as you approach the harbo for instance
it looks very much like city of white cottages not dis
similar from those of beautiful villages. The
smoothness OF the surface, however and the uniformity
of its color, detract very much from the general archi
tecural beauty OF the city, and the eye often feels
great relief when in the Of the cathedral and other
public buildings il rests upon the rough and uncouth,
but natural, surface of the coral wall.
As u general thing Havana may be said to be very
well built though not with that architectural elegance
which charaoterizcs many European OF American cities
This, indeed, is not in this latitude possible; two on
three stories is about the only height the climate per
mits and many houses, IN the best quarters have but one,
Some of the public buildings the property of the gov
ernmunt make more pctenson but, general thing,
al clics designed for dwellings, are quiet and uuan,
bilious The captain generals palace for instance,
it not constantly guarded by soldiers, might easily he
mistaken for the quiet residence OF private citizen an
the same may be said OF the residences of others high in
authority Comfort and 10 have been Yer,
much consulted in the construction and arrangement %
houses in Havana, and in no city with which am ac
quointcd these desirable objects more gcperyy oi
| fully attained T.