Architecture

Periods

  · Features
  · Plazas 
  · Streets
  · Neighborhoods
  · Buildings

First Period (1844-1865):

Plazas:

Open urban spaces were constituted by a grid configuration of isolated, bare, treeless, and uncultivated plazas or small squares.

  • Plaza de Armas (subsequently named Plaza Colón or "Columbus Plaza"): Economic, social, and political center of the city. Adjacent to the Plaza was the Cathedral, the Palace (Palacio Consistorial), the Senate, and the jail (Cárcel Vieja). The wealthiest families resided in the area, constituting, likewise, some of the country's main political actors.
  • Plaza Duarte: Formerly known as Plaza de Anacaona, Plaza de Santo Domingo, and the Plaza del Ex-Convento Dominico ("Plaza of the Former Dominican Convent").
  • Plaza de San Miguel: In front of the temple Templo del Arcángel San Miguel. Was a square covered with grasses and several trees.
  • Plaza Juan de Dios (now called Plazoleta Padre Billini): Was located at the intersection of the streets Plateros (Meriño) and Universidad (Padre Billini).
  • Plazoleta ("small square") del Carmen: Set against the chapel Capilla del Carmen and the old San Andrés Hospital.
  • Plaza de Santa Barbara: Square of land between Comercio and Plateros (Meriño) Streets, set against the old church Iglesia de Santa Bárbara.
  • Plazoleta de Regina: Found at the entrance of the alley Callejón de Regina, set against the church of the same name.
  • Plazoleta de San Antón and Plazoleta de San Lázaro: These small plazas were only demarcated in 1943, the year their construction began.
  • Plaza Duarte, Plaza de San Miguel, Plaza Juan de Dios, Plazoleta del Carmen, Plaza de Santa Bárbara, and the demarcations of what would become Plazoleta de San Antón and Plazoleta de San Lázaro were in Santo Domingo.