CHAPTER XII 



CUBAN CITIES: HAVANA 



Large number of cities in proportion to population. Havana and adjacent 

 towns. Imposing appearance from the sea, and picturesque location. 

 The bay and shipping. Prevalent building-material and type of archi- 

 tecture. The central plaza. European aspect of the city. The Prado. 

 Notable structures. Tomb of Columbus. Charitable institutions. 

 Homes and private dwellings. The business streets. Street-cars and 

 carriages. Places of recreation. Pinar del Rio. Cabanas and MarieL 



CUBA has a number of interesting cities and towns. 

 The principal of these are Havana, Matanzas, Pinar 

 del Rio, Cardenas, Puerto Principe, Cienfuegos, Santo Es- 

 piritu, Trinidad, Santiago, Holguin, and Manzanillo. 



The number of cities seems large in proportion to the 

 area and general population, and one wonders, especially 

 in view of the absence of industrial establishments which 

 would naturally segregate population, why in such a pic- 

 turesque land so many people dwell in towns where un- 

 sanitary conditions prevail, and the houses, especially of 

 the poor, are usually overcrowded. There are several rea- 

 sons. In the first place, the people are naturally sociable 

 and gregarious. The prevalent masonry construction is also 

 expensive, and it is much easier for the poor man to oc- 

 cupy a house already built, although centuries old, than to 

 pay for the erection of a new one. Furthermore, from the 

 earliest days of settlement the town-dwelling habit has bees 



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