Restoring Old Havana

This story map Cascade investigates the historic preservation program in Havana's Old City. Old Havana achieved UNESCO World Heritage status in 1982, and consists of over 3,000 buildings representing ten distinct architectural styles. But centuries of salty sea mist and regular hurricanes have bettered this historical treasure trove. In the 1990s, Havana's Office of the Historian confronted a looming crisis of building collapses. It sought and received permission from Fidel Castro to start a private holding company to generate revenue from tourism and self-fund restoration efforts. Today, the program has grown to over $120 million annually, and reinvests half of its revenue in building community services to keep the historic center a "living city."

Data e Risorse

Campo Valore
dcat_issued 2017-06-22T19:32:58.000Z
dcat_modified 2017-07-27T21:56:00.000Z
dcat_publisher_name ArcGIS StoryMaps
guid https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=9e53b36378ab44789f33fcb07439f726
Tag
  • Eusebio Leal
  • Fidel Castro
  • Office of the Historian
  • Old City
  • Old Havana
  • architectural preservation
  • architecture
  • building
  • city
  • cuba
  • gentrification
  • habaguanex
  • havana
  • historic
  • hospitality
  • la habana vieja
  • planning
  • preservation
  • program
  • renewal
  • renovation
  • restoration
  • story map cascade
  • tourism
  • urban
isopen False
metadata_created 2025-09-18T19:30:52.781500
metadata_modified 2025-09-19T18:15:53.298295
notes This story map Cascade investigates the historic preservation program in Havana's Old City. Old Havana achieved UNESCO World Heritage status in 1982, and consists of over 3,000 buildings representing ten distinct architectural styles. But centuries of salty sea mist and regular hurricanes have bettered this historical treasure trove. In the 1990s, Havana's Office of the Historian confronted a looming crisis of building collapses. It sought and received permission from Fidel Castro to start a private holding company to generate revenue from tourism and self-fund restoration efforts. Today, the program has grown to over $120 million annually, and reinvests half of its revenue in building community services to keep the historic center a "living city."
num_resources 2
num_tags 25
title Restoring Old Havana
url https://www.caribbeangeoportal.com/apps/Story::restoring-old-havana