A Photographic History of the U.S. Embassy in Havana

Looking back at the architectural history of United States embassies in the Cuban capital.

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The U.S. Embassy in Havana can be seen in this April 24, 1942, photograph, with its garden in the foreground, which had been built on the outskirts of the city on a hill overlooking the sea. The two-story stone mansion, which was occupied by American ambassador to Cuba Spruille Braden, was constructed at a cost of $300,000. It had eight master bedrooms, seven master baths, four dressing rooms, a great reception, living and dining rooms, three kitchens and service pantries, porches, terraces, and servants quarters.

La Prensa/Associated Press

The U.S. Embassy in Havana can be seen in this April 24, 1942, photograph, with its garden in the foreground, which had been built on the outskirts of the city on a hill overlooking the sea. The two-story stone mansion, which was occupied by American ambassador to Cuba Spruille Braden, was constructed at a cost of $300,000. It had eight master bedrooms, seven master baths, four dressing rooms, a great reception, living and dining rooms, three kitchens and service pantries, porches, terraces, and servants quarters.

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On Wednesday, President Obama said the United States will soon reopen an embassy in Havana, the capital of Cuba, as part of changing diplomatic relations with the country. Here is a look back in time at former embassies in Havana.

In 1953, the United States opened an embassy building in Havana that had been designed by New York’s Harrison & Abramovitz. The embassy closed in 1961.

In 1977, the Harrison & Abramovitz building reopened. Today the building (with renovations that were completed in 1997) houses the U.S. Interests Section, whose functions, according to their website, are “Consular Services, a Political and Economic Section, a Public Diplomacy Program, and Refugee Processing unique to Cuba.”

In 2006, as the BBC reported at the time, Fidel Castro installed 132 black flags outside the building, which blocked an electronic sign with scrolling messages on the building that started the month before.

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