Civic Center of Lima, Brutalist skyscraper in Lima District, Peru

The Civic Center of Lima is a complex whose main tower rises 33 floors and 109 meters, with a pale yellow concrete grid framing stacks of dark recessed windows and thin antennae on the flat roof. A red and white banner reading "EL PERÚ AVANZA" hangs down the facade. The 2008 remodeling painted over the original raw concrete and added synthetic finishes, and the complex now operates as the Real Plaza Centro Cívico shopping center.

The Civic Center was conceived in 1966 under architect Fernando Belaúnde Terry's first government, on the site of the Lima Penitentiary, demolished in 1961. After Juan Velasco Alvarado's 1968 coup, construction ran from 1970 to 1977, when the main tower opened. The Limazo riots of 5 February 1975 set part of it on fire. In 2008 a full remodeling turned it into a shopping center.

The complex's name comes from its original civic role, housing state offices and, from 1977, the Ministry of Commerce. A 2008 remodeling turned it into the Real Plaza Centro Cívico shopping center, painting over the exposed concrete and covering the walls with synthetic finishes. Visitors today pass through a retail mall with a food court, cinemas and a children's mechanical playground, linked directly to the Metropolitano's Central Station.

The complex today operates as a large shopping and entertainment center with direct access to public transportation, making it easy to navigate. The stores, restaurants, and cinemas allow for extended visits, and the bus station provides good connections to other parts of the city.

The main tower was completed in 1977, not 1974, and at 109 metres it remained Peru's tallest building for 34 years, until the Westin Hotel in San Isidro surpassed it in 2011. The complex occupies the ground of the former Lima Penitentiary, known as El Panóptico, demolished in 1961.