Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(Canal Museum; 211-1649;
www.museodelcanal.com
; Calle 6a Oeste; admission US$5;
9am-5pm Tue-Sun)
This impressive museum is housed in a beautifully restored building
that once served as the headquarters for the original French canal company. The Panama
Canal Museum (as it's more commonly known) presents excellent exhibits on the famous
waterway, framed in their historical and political context. Signs are in Spanish, but
English-speaking guides and audiotours (US$5) are available.
Museo de Historia de Panamá
MUSEUM
OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 501-4128; Calle 6a Oeste, Palacio Municipal; 8am-4pm Mon-Fri)
The modest
Museo de Historia de Panamá has a small selection of exhibits covering Panamanian his-
tory from the colonial period to the modern era.
CONTROVERSY RINGS THE CASCO
A Unesco World Heritage Site, the Casco Viejo neighborhood in Panama City is the
city's oldest, with a rich architectural and cultural heritage. After a long decline
during the 20th century, when wealthy families abandoned the area in favor of the
modern downtown area, restoration has come full swing.
Panama City, now a metropolitan area of more than one million residents, experi-
ences ever-increasing traffic congestion. As a partial response, the government
completed the Cinta Costera I project (Coastal Belt) in 2007. This involved filling
4km of Panama Bay along Avenida Balboa from Paitilla to the Mercado de Mar-
iscos. In 2009 the fill and road were extended some 500m to the access road to
Casco Viejo (Cinta Costera II).
In 2011 the government announced plans to continue the coastal highway to-
ward the Bridge of the Americas. A contract was signed with Brazilian construction
company Odebrecht for US$780 million to construct a tunnel under Casco Viejo
connecting the Cinta Costera II with a link to the bridge. However, after the signing
the government altered its plans for the tunnel, citing high costs, and suggested
road construction on an ocean fill around the Casco.
This announcement incited a great deal of public debate about the project and
its impact on the cultural patrimony of the Casco Viejo. The tranquil area, located
on a peninsula with 270˚ ocean views, would now be ringed by a highway on the
sea. Citizens groups led by Casco residents have suggested other alternatives that
would not impact the neighborhood.
After preparing an Environmental Impact Study in 2011, which many considered
deficient because it did not consider alternatives, the Ministry of Public Works and
Odebrecht began the construction of an ocean bridge in front of Casco that would
