Edificio Bacardí

The Bacardí Building is one of the finest Art Deco buildings in Latin America — a twelve-storey tower completed in 1930 for the rum dynasty, rising above the colonial rooflines of Old Havana with terracotta facades, glazed granite, and an exuberant confidence in the architecture of its moment.

The exterior is the main event: pink granite at street level, terracotta panels depicting stylised female figures above, a stepped crown, and the famous bronze bat atop the tower. The ground floor bar — the original Bacardí bar — still operates, and the building's lobby retains its Art Deco interior. The building is not open for tours but the exterior and lobby are worth close examination. It stands at the corner of Avenida de Bélgica and San Juan de Dios, a few blocks from the Parque Central.

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A story
The Bacardí Building was completed in 1930 — the same year Prohibition was ending in the United States and rum consumption was about to collapse. The company had it built as a triumphant statement of Cuban modernity, topping it with a bronze bat (the Bacardí logo) and a terracotta frieze of bacchanalian celebration. By 1960 the family had fled Cuba and the building belonged to the revolution. The bat still perches on top, irrelevant to anyone.

Other places in La Habana Vieja (Old Havana)