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    Back to Design and Architecture

    Design and Architecture

    Castro and Cuban architecture

    During Fidel Castro's decades-long control of Cuba, development in Havana was largely stalled, leaving a historic city intact but in disrepair.

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    By Frances Anderton • Nov 29, 2016 • 1 min read

    During Fidel Castro's decades-long control of Cuba, development in Havana was largely stalled, leaving a historic city intact but in disrepair. Rosa Lowinger talks about its astounding architectural legacy, the famed Arts Schools, the Russian footprint, and the challenges ahead for preservation as construction of hotels and tourist businesses booms.

    Another legacy of Castro is the absence of billboards and commercial signs in the urban fabric of Havana. The only signage tended to be political posters. Al Nodal, founder of the LUMENS Project, is behind an effort to restore Havana's commercial neon signs and revive the Havana of the post-war years -- when the city was America's playground.

    The full episode

    1 of 2
    Cuban architecture, Lewis MacAdams
    1. 1:04Castro and Cuban architectureYou’re reading this
    2. 15:09Filling the shoes of Lewis MacAdams
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Frances Anderton

      architecture critic and author

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Avishay Artsy

      Producer, DnA: Design and Architecture

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rosa Lowinger

      conservator and author

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      Al Nodal

      LUMENS Project

      Culture

    The full episode

    1 of 2
    Cuban architecture, Lewis MacAdams
    1. 1:04Castro and Cuban architectureYou’re reading this
    2. 15:09Filling the shoes of Lewis MacAdams
    Back to Design and Architecture