Paseo del Prado Old Havana
It had several names: The Meadow Promenade, The Isabel II Promenade and even the Jose Martí Promenade but the first, was the one that survived. For many year was the most important and beautiful avenue in the city with almost one Km long from Malecón avenue to the fraternity park and it was first registered in 1772 –Marquis De la Torre ruling period-. In the first half of the XIX century –Miguel Tacón ruling period- it lost its rural conditions and turned into a wide gravel walk increasing the traffic in the area and at the second half fancy mansions and society buildings started to show up in the vicinity.
In 1902 the streets were paved with asphalt –for the first time in the city history-. In 1928 Forestier decided to decorate it with benches made of stone and marble, iron light posts and bronze lions made from former cannons. The bronze statue at the beginning of the promenade was made by Spanish sculptor Ramón Mateu in 1920 to honour a poet and martyr of the first independence war Juan Clemente Zenea. At the opposite end stands the bust of Manuel de la Cruz another patriot friend of Martí.