Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1907-03-13
Havana, THE HANDSOME.
ENCHANTING CITY OF LEISURE
AND PLEASURE.
A Land Of Historic Interest And Tradi'
tiOnal Lore Its Quaint Customs
And Foreign Methods
It's Many Beautiful
Buildings.
CUBA THE LAND OF SUNSHINE
AND SHRUBBERY.

ities of custom inspection, one usuai-
liz takes one Of the pony victorias, of
which there are hundreds here, and is
driven by the ''coachee, = who speaks
only Spanish, to ones hotel. These
victorias are most comfortable and
easy vehicles Of conveyance, and ap-
pear to be the only carriages in Ha-
vana.
American tourists who enjoy any
number OF rides in these pony coaches,
would like to carry a few back to
tbs States, especially as the fare is SO
cheap. To ride to any point of rea-
sonable distance is 20 cents for two
people, 25 cents (American money!
for three people. The coach fare is
about the only thing cheap in Havana,
and is so refreshingly free of the taint
OF graft that one feels like taking five
dollars worth of rides in these We
hicles.
Havana of today is handsome city.
Indeed. it is said to be one of the
most beautiful cities in the world,
and is certainly most interesting and
attractive to visitors. As one is
whisked through the streets TO his
hotel upon his arrival he is impressed
with the distinctly foreign appearance
of the city, for, although so near the
mainland of the United States, Ha-
vana is as foreign in appearance, Gus
toms and methods as Rome or Jerusa-
lem, Venice or Paris.
About the first thing that impresses
the visitor is the low, flat appearance
OF the highly colored houses, the forts,
the cathedrals, spires and massive
official buildings-all a rainbow of
colors as bewildcring as it is startling
upon first view, yet so harmoniously
blended as not to offend the eye of the
most asthetic. Houses and buildings
are painted in yellows, blues, white,
reds, greens and sometimes purple
tints, and often many or all of these
colors are seen upon one building. The
absence OF chimneys is NOTED by the
visitor, and upon inquiry as to the rea-
son, he is told there are no fires need
ed in this tropical climate and neces-
sarily no stoves and no chimneys. For
cooking, charcoal is used and the ty-
pical Cuban charcoal stove is an inter
esting sight to the viistor.
Havana has a population of 200, 600
There is much wealth and fashion
here, but also much poverty and
suffering. The streets are narrow as
rule, but are remarkably clean.
a
..white wings being employed day
and night do the work thoroughly
and effectually. Indeed in our travels
we have seen no city whose streets are
kent in such perfect cleanliness as
Havana, except the streets of Newport,
r.. L., when visited by the writer
some years ago. To the average Amer
lean tourist the cleanliness of the
streets Of Havana is delightfully."- re-
freshing, although this condition of
affairs is said to have been brought
about by the Americans.
Havana, physically and architecture
ally, is emphatically Spanish. The
visitor is at once impressed with the
heavy style of architecture. By far
the larger number of houses are but
one. story, some are two stories and a
few attain loftier proportions. The
| one-story houses, however, appear as
hiph as most Of the two-story ones in
the States. They are embellished with
massive doors and windows. The
avreage height Of door here is sixteen
feet. The houses are built of lime-
| stone and rough rubble work called
.smamphosteria. The heavy roofs
are tiled with Cuban or Spanish tiling,
/ the cost of which is said to be $40 per
| thousand tiles.
There usually is roof garden, the
| outlook from which is enchanting.
| Colonnade usually line the front of
4 the houses and the walls are very
| thick, ceilings very high, doors mas
| sive and windows reaching nearly from
| floor to ceiling. There are no panes
of glass in the windows, but slat shut
| ters, and the windows are guarded by
| iron bars and ornamental agilles. The
| iron work is very handsome and the
/ designs often artistic designs of grace
/ full curves and intricate patterns.
Every Cuban's house is his castle or
| fortress, and so it impressed the Wis
itor. The unfamiliar style of the
houses here, the strange vehicles, the
street life. the curious customs and
ways cf the people, the universal
Spanish tongue all proclaim to the
| American tourist that he is in for
eign land.
Havana was built to endure, and SO
the massive construction Of the build
ings both public and private, impresses
one. In accounting for the peculiari-
ties of the house, climatic conditions
are to be chiefly considered. The
walls are built of unusual thickness
Il ana tie TOOLS art uEdf ~ "AebSteAH>-
the heat of the tropical sun. The win
dows are ungIazed 10 admit the free
passage of air and altogether the wis
dom of the Havananese methods OF
building houses is to be appreciated.
Tall iron fences usually surround the
better class of houses here, and bits OF
garden to the left or right of the en-
trance contain blooming flowers,
waving palms or shrubs, which find
root in rich soil encased in cement
outlines of geometrical figures, and
hierographicaI shapes. The average
door appears to have been built tc
withstand an invasion by a foreign
foe. 1t is from 10 to 16 feet high.
often Of solid mahogony or other ma
tive wood, nearly a foot thick and Is
heavily barred with great iron bars
and ponderous bolts. 1t is ornament
ed with various locks and Knockers
and Of usually smaller door is SCI
in one of the panels of the larger
one.
There is little privacy in the Cuoar
home. As one whisks through th'
streets in the electric car, aut, By the
way they have an excellent street ca