In the center of Havana, along the Calle Monserrate you will find the former headquarters of Bacardi, the famous rum company. The building dates from 1930 and shows a close kinship to New York's art deco towers. It's a fantastic construction with polychrome ceramic decorations. The tower was one of the first skyscrapers in Havana and is crowned with the Bacard? bat, that is also used as a weathercock. The granite was imported from Bavaria and Norway. The Bacardi building is in good shape, and still contains a lot of the original interior decorations.

This Art Deco style building was designed by the architects Esteban Rodriguez Castells, Rafael Fernandez Ruenes and Jose Menendez.

The Bacardi tower, seen from the street, and some details of the facade and the tower. Mind the fine brick work with the stones used in different positions and the ceramics.

Details of the facade, caught from the terraces. The abstract geometrical ornamentation in orange and blue reminds of the old Central American Indian cultures.