At the Havana Yacht Club, Luxury Turned to Rubble

If a visitor with no knowledge of Cuban history were to arrive at the dilapidated building that stands on the seafront near Miramar’s Fifth Avenue, they would hardly imagine they were standing before the old and glamorous Havana Yacht Club. / 14ymedio
1/8 The walls show the plunder of those who tore away bricks to build their homes. The interior now serves as a public urinal. The doors and windows are only hollow, and the stained-glass windows are a mere memory. Part of the roof has also collapsed, completing the landscape of ruin.
2/8 Founded on October 27, 1886, and moved to its current location seven years later, it became one of Havana’s most prestigious clubs. Its lounges and terraces, with privileged views of La Concha Beach, were for decades a symbol of luxury and exclusivity for the Cuban and foreign elite.
4/8 Today, the building is abandoned and in ruins. It is frequented only by curious onlookers seeking to witness its deterioration, homeless people using it as a shelter, or passersby in need of a makeshift bathroom.
5/8 Traces of its former grandeur can still be seen on the floor: a large mosaic in the shape of a nautical rose and several fleur-de-lis motifs inlaid on the floors, ornaments that looters have been unable to remove.
6/8 The walls, erected under the supervision of Mexican architect Rafael Goyeneche, are now covered with shrubs and climbing plants that advance over the structure.
7/8 Walking inside the building involves constant risk: some upper walls seem to be holding up only by sheer miracle, after the looters’ sledgehammers and hammers tore away entire sections of the structure.
8/8 Beyond the old Havana Yacht Club lies a blue sea, serene under the August sun. There, the remains of a staircase and a ruined dock survive, now converted into a diving board by children who dive into the water, not even knowing the name of the building crumbling behind them.

____________

COLLABORATE WITH OUR WORK: The 14ymedio team is committed to practicing serious journalism that reflects Cuba’s reality in all its depth. Thank you for joining us on this long journey. We invite you to continue supporting us by becoming a member of 14ymedio now. Together we can continue transforming journalism in Cuba.