El Capitolio
| Capitolio Nacional | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-classical, art nouveau |
| Town or city | Havana |
| Country | Cuba |
| Construction started | April 1, 1926 |
| Completed | May 20, 1929 |
| Cost | 17 million pesos (at the time) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Raúl Otero and Eugenio Rayneri Piedra |
El Capitolio, or National Capitol Building in Havana, Cuba, was the seat of government in Cuba until after the Cuban Revolution in 1959, and is now home to the Cuban Academy of Sciences. "El Capitolio" has a size of 681 by 300 ft. Its design and name recall the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.. Completed in 1929, it was the tallest building in Havana until the 1950s and houses the world's third largest indoor statue.
The project began on April 1926, during the Gerardo Machado administration. Construction was overseen by the U.S. firm of Purdy and Henderson. Prior to the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the Cuban Congress was housed in the building. When the Congress was abolished and disbanded following the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the building lost its purpose as the House of the People. Later it ended up as the headquarters of the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment.
As of 2013, the Government of Cuba is restoring the building for use once again as the home of Cuba's National Assembly.[1]
According to its designer, Eugenio Rayneri Piedra, who had studied architecture in the United States, the inspiration for the cupola came from the Panthéon in Paris.
The cupola, which is stone clad around a steel frame which was constructed in the United States and imported to Cuba, is set forward on the building to allow for some large rooms at the rear, including what is now the National Library of Science and Technology. In the original design the dome was to be decorated with stylised palm leaves but this addition was never executed. At almost 92 m (302 ft) high, the dome was the highest point in the city of Havana until the 1950s (this honour now belongs to the José Martí Memorial). It was the third highest cupola in the world at the time of its construction.
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