4 
Sightseeing in Pa rtama 
(By Car or on Foot) 
Starting your tour of Panama City at the Ancon Post 
Office, go west on Fourth of July Avenue, which is the 
boundary line between Panama and the Canal Zone, for 
two short blocks, turning left on I Street, where you will 
pass, on your right, the NATIONAL INSTITUTE, the 
country’s largest preparatory school, and the NATIONAL 
UNIVERSITY. , 
Continuing down I Street to CENTRAL AVENUE, 
you come upon Panama City’s main business thoroughfare, 
where, turning right, you will pass many interesting stores, 
including shops offering Oriental and Central American 
curios. 
The first park you approach is SANTA ANA PLAZA, 
named for the historic church which faces it. In colonial 
days this church was outside the city walls, and sur¬ 
rounded by mud huts. During the 19th century it had 
fallen into ruins, and its old walls provided barricades for 
the warring factions of the country. Rebuilt in the early 
20th century, its exterior is all that remains of its colonial 
charm. Inside, the only interesting sight is the staircase 
to the belfry tower, which is said to have been brought 
from the Cathedral of Old Panama. 
Continuing down Central Avenue you pass, on the left, 
the NATIONAL LOTTERY BUILDING, which houses 
the offices of the Lottery, the Mayor of Panama, and 
the Governor of the Province. 
At the corner of the next side street is LA MERCED 
CHURCH. The darker stones of its facade were brought 
from a church of the same name in Old Panama. In the 
small chapel on the street corner is the painting known as 
the Virgin of the Chapel, which is considered miraculous. 
According to legend, when the image was brought from 
Old Panama, it became so heavy that all efforts to carry 
it further were fruitless, and it was left at its present site, 
with a temporary sanctuary of bamboo and straw to house 
it until the permanent chapel could be built. 
At this point, cross Central Avenue, walk back half a 
block, and turn left behind the National City Bank 
Building, and then right, to see the RUINED WALLS 
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5 
of the old city, which, with a moat, once protected the 
town from attack by land. Then turn left on 10th Street 
to Avenue A, and again turn left, or toward the east. 
At the intersection of Avenue A and 8th Street, is the 
famous San Jose Church, better known as the CHURCH 
OF THE GOLDEN ALTAR. Like its predecessor in 
Old Panama, this church was built by the Augustine 
Recollect monks, who transferred to it the main altar 
which they saved from the flames when the original church 
was destroyed during pirate Henry Morgan’s raid. Ac¬ 
cording to legend, the Golden Altar was saved from 
Morgan’s greedy hands by a stratagem of the monks, who 
whitewashed it, thus making it appear of no value. The 
altar is said to date from the 17th century and the School 
of Churrigurra in Quito, Ecuador. It is noted for its 
purity of style, well-proportioned dimensions and harmoni¬ 
ous sculpture, executed in hard mahogany with gold inlay. 
The pulpit is made from five panels which originally were 
in the Cathedral of Old Panama. Both pulpit and altar 
were refinished with gold leaf a few decades ago. 
Beyond San Jose Church and across the street, at the 
corner of 7th, are the ruins of Panama’s first UNIVER¬ 
SITY, built by the Jesuits in 1749 and destroyed by fire 
in 1781. They now house a garage. 
Turning left on 7th Street, proceed to CATHEDRAL 
PLAZA, which was the heart of the early city. STATUES 
in the plaza are of the FOUNDERS of the Republic, 
“Los Proceres .” Important buildings surrounding it are 
the MUNICIPAL PALACE; the Panama POST OFFICE, 
which originally housed the French Canal offices, and 
later those of the Isthmian Canal Commission; the 
ARCHBISHOP’S PALACE; and the HOTEL CEN¬ 
TRAL. 
Most important building on the plaza is the CATHE¬ 
DRAL, started in 1673, when the present city was founded. 
It is built of stones transported from Old Panama and is 
a striking example of Spanish colonial style. On the 
right-hand aisle is a painting called the “Virgin of the 
Rosary’’ which has been attributed to Murillo. 
Crossing the plaza and continuing down Central Avenue 
for two blocks, you will pass, on the left, the NATIONAL 
PALACE, where the most important offices of the Nation¬ 
al Government of Panama are located. Offices of the 
