Panama and the canal . 8o STREETS AND HOUSES as if to stand a siege. No lawns separate them from thestreets. It is but a step to the sidewalk. Doors are open everywhere. Theinteriors of thehouses of the poorerpeople are in fullview from thestreets. We shallfind, however, thatthe homes of thebetter class are inthe second story oftheir houses andmore removed fromthe noise and dirt. Let us pass di-rectly into thetown to Independ-ence Plaza. Herestands the oldCathedral of Pan-ama,—with its twin spires, Spanish architecture, and clang-ing bells. In front of it is the open park or Plaza. This isthe
Panama and the canal . 8o STREETS AND HOUSES as if to stand a siege. No lawns separate them from thestreets. It is but a step to the sidewalk. Doors are open everywhere. Theinteriors of thehouses of the poorerpeople are in fullview from thestreets. We shallfind, however, thatthe homes of thebetter class are inthe second story oftheir houses andmore removed fromthe noise and dirt. Let us pass di-rectly into thetown to Independ-ence Plaza. Herestands the oldCathedral of Pan-ama,—with its twin spires, Spanish architecture, and clang-ing bells. In front of it is the open park or Plaza. This isthe center about which the town is built. Thechief hotel, the Bishops palace, the City Hall,and the principal clubs, are all on this Plaza. Plere, onSunday evenings, rich and poor alike gather to listen to. How SrKAXdELY iN \Rnu\v Its Si£-L1,ts Ark I The Plaza INDEPENDENCE PLAZA the band concerts or to promenade beneath the hghts andpalm trees. For more than two hundred years this Plazahas witnessed some of the most important events in thehistory of Panama. If the City of Panama is the capital ofthe Republic, this small square is its very heart. There areother old churches and other parks in the city, but nonequite so interestingas these. Not all the town,however, is as at-tractive asIndepend-ence Plaza. Muchfilth, many vilequarters, evil-smell-ing and unheal th-ful streets, revealthe usual conditionsthat are all toocommon in tropicalcities. Yet ourgeneral feeling, aswe examine thetown, will not bewholly unpleasant. From the Cathedral Plaza it is only a short walk to theharbor. A stroll out on the old sea-wall is full of noveltyand interest. This is the very same wall which the Spaniards
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidpanamacanal0, bookyear1910
