6 
PANAMA TOURIST COMMISSION, with English 
speaking employees, are located on the main floor. Behind 
this building is the NATIONAL THEATER. 
The picturesque SEAWALL MISSION (Institute Pan- 
Americano ), a school founded by the Methodist Church 
in 1908, is at the foot of the street. Turning right, you 
pass the UNION CLUB, smart social club for Panaman¬ 
ians and Americans, and mount the stairs of LAS BOVE- 
DAS, beneath an archway of bougainvillea blossoms. 
This U-shaped promenade, which straddles the finger-tip 
of the peninsula, tops the fortifications which once formed 
the main bulwark of the city’s sea defenses. You can see 
the watch towers and the cells below (now chiefly used as 
garages), where dangerous political prisoners were kept. 
The FRENCH PLAZA, in the curve of the U, commem¬ 
orates the French attempt to build a canal. The center 
monument, topped by Chanticleer, is dedicated to the 
French. Under the arcade are marble plaques describing 
the French venture. The PALACE OF JUSTICE, which 
houses the Chamber of Deputies and the Supreme Court 
of Panama, faces the plaza. 
At the end of the U, following the seawall, turn left into 4 
Avenue A, and pass, on the right, at the corner of 3d 
Street, the ruins of SANTO DOMINGO CHURCH, with 
its famous FLAT ARCH, one of the marvels of Panama. 
According to legend, the arch fell twice, but when the 
supports were removed for the third time, the priest of 
the church knelt beneath it and prayed, and it stood 
firm, even without benefit of keystone. This arch influ¬ 
enced the decision to build the Canal in Panama instead of 
Nicaragua. Nicaraguan stamps of the period, which were 
distributed in the United States Congress, depicted an 
erupting volcano. A Panamanian stamp showing the 
Flat Arch carried conviction. The present Santo Do¬ 
mingo Church adjoins the ruins of the first church which 
was destroyed by fire soon after it was completed. 
Turn right on 3d Street, cross Central Avenue, and at 
the intersection of Avenue B and 3d Street you will find 
BOLIVAR PLAZA, dedicated to the Spanish-American 
Liberator, Simon Bolivar. At the right, looking toward 
the bay, is the modern SAN FRANCISCO CHURCH, 
with LA SALLE COLLEGE, a school for boys, just 
beyond. Standing with your back to these buildings, 
7 
look across the Plaza and to the left of the Hotel Colombia, 
and see the mother-of-pearl-adorned steeple of SAN 
FELIPE NERI, said to be the oldest church in the city. 
Continue on 3d Street to North Avenue. Turn left 
here, and between 5th and 6th Streets is the PRESI- 
DENCIA, on the site formerly occupied by the represen¬ 
tatives of the Kings of Spain, and later by the Colombian 
Governors. White herons wander in the courtyard, 
among columns studded with mother-of-pearl. The first 
floor is devoted to offices, the second floor to official 
banquet and reception rooms, and the third floor to the 
orivate residence of the President of Panama. Bullet 
loles, mementos of the 1931 revolution, are visible on the 
walls and around the entrance. Fishing boats still tie up 
at the old water gate of the city, which is now reached by 
a flight of steps leading below street level under the Marina 
Building, directly across the street from one corner of the 
Presidencia. 
Farther along North Avenue, near 8th Street, is an old 
house with the date 1743 fashioned in the plaster of the 
door frame. Still farther is the big public MARKET, 
with its varied assortment of tropical fruits, vegetables, 
live monkeys, birds, and other native products. Here you 
can either continue along Pablo Arosemena Avenue for a 
glimpse of the bay and the fishing boats, or you can turn 
left and proceed up East 13th Street to Central Avenue. 
East 13th Street is lined with sidewalk vendors who sell 
everything from lizards to lottery tickets. It is more 
commonly known as SAL-SI-PUEDES, which means 
“Get out if you can.” Whichever route you pick you will 
return to the Canal Zone on Central Avenue passing the 
railroad station and turning left to DeLesseps Park and 
the Tivoli U. S. O. 
For those who want to see more of Panama City, a trip 
to the CEMETERIES on B Street, with their graves of 
adventurers from the four corners of the globe, will be of 
interest. And a bus ride to the suburb of LA EXPOSI- 
ClON, named for the Exposition which Panama held here 
at the time of the opening of the Panama Canal, is well 
worth while. Here may be seen the MONUMENT of 
Balboa holding the world on his shoulders and facing the 
ocean he discovered. Here also are the OLYMPIC POOL, 
the NATIONAL MUSEUM, many foreign legations, the 
