One of the main commercial arteries of the Camagüey city is Maceo Street, composed of only two blocks between the square of the same name and Solidarity Square or as it is popularly known, Gallo Square.
10 years ago the restoration works in this central place were completed, after a project was implemented that aimed to solve structural problems in these spaces, such as electrical installations and the impossibility of access to emergency vehicles. From then on, the street would be exclusively for pedestrians.
“All the works, medium and large scale, that have been made in recent years in our city respond to studies from the Historic Center. At that time the condition of these squares and the street was terrible, its use worse; and these mobility studies, together with the desire to turn the city into an important tourist center, resulted in the need to intervene in the old Mercaderes Street, “said José Rodríguez Barreras, Director of the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city.
The works were an important change for the urban landscape of the city, as they included transformation and remodeling work in both squares, as well as in different buildings located there. In addition, to carry out the project, several enquiries were made with artists, the press, entities and the population residing in that place.
Rodríguez Barreras added that “at all times they tried to show the history of the street, its design, in fact, the forges that it has are allegorical to the drawing of the sidewalks; the presence of the coat of arms on the pavement, the fact of being the city of churches, city of the jars also played an important role … In addition, several restoration works and changes of use were made in different buildings, an example is Restaurant 1514 that until back then it was a dilapidated building”.
The restoration of the street and Maceo and Gallo squares was a joint effort of several business entities in the province, with the general coordination of the Office of the Historian of Camagüey city and the support of the party and the government in the territory.
The completion date was scheduled for the summer of 2011, however, it was brought forward in honor to the Sixth Party Congress to be held that year and precisely on April 14th, 2011 with the presence of the delegates who would participate in the important event, inaugurated the second and final section of the work.
This work not only endowed this artery with a worthy image from the aesthetic point of view, turning it into a pedestrian street, but also left it equipped with modern technical networks of aqueduct, sewage, data transmission, telephony, electricity, lighting and the audio system and lights, factors that directly influenced the quality of life of the city dwellers; serving as a reference and useful experience for future projects on a similar scale.
Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García
