PLAZA DE LA INDEPENDENCIA
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It was in this square, also called Plaza Mayor or Plaza Catedral, that the two independences of Panama were declared, in 1821 and in 1903. The former religious, political and social center of the colonial city is today a meeting place for children and old people. Around this heart of the old city line up the cathedral (freshly renovated, especially to welcome the Pope on the occasion of the World Youth Day in January 2019), the municipal palace (which houses the history museum), the museum of the Inter-Oceanic Canal, installed in the former Grand Hotel, as well as the magnificent Hotel Central, which has regained its former lustre. At the time (around 1885) it was one of the most luxurious hotels in the Americas, with its individual balconies and mansards. Canal engineers and visiting businessmen enjoyed its comfortable rooms overlooking the Plaza Mayor. The kiosk in the center invites us to observe the peaceful life of the barrio. Still on the same square, on the east side, we find beautifully restored houses from the 1880s and a massive building from 1947, the Casa Alianza. The Plaza Mayor was once a square and was used for theatrical performances, military parades, or bullfights. After the convent that once overlooked it burned down, it was enlarged in 1878 and turned into a rectangular park with benches and a kiosk.
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