Casa Dorada, Tarija, National monument in Tarija, Bolivia.
Casa Dorada is a two-story corner building at Ingavi and General Trigo streets in Tarija, built as a commercial house and now the Casa de la Cultura. Its orange upper facade has vertical pilasters, arched windows, a central balcony with a pale balustrade and white statues along the roofline; the ground level has cream-banded striped masonry, arched doorways and a tall metal gate. Columns are crowned by female figures, and the design is symmetrical, with nine doors on the Ingavi side and a similar number on General Trigo.
Moisés Navajas Ichazo and Esperanza Morales Serrano commissioned the building from the Swiss-Italian architects Antonio and Miguel Camponovo. Work began in 1878 and the building was inaugurated on 9 January 1903, so construction ran about twenty-five years, not sixteen. It was declared a National Monument in April 1992.
The building has served as the Casa de la Cultura de Tarija since the institution was created on 4 July 1987 by an agreement between the Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho, the former Tarija development corporation and the municipal government. Inside are an art gallery, a library, a theatre and an auditorium, and each year it hosts the cultural activities of Abril en Tarija. Its name, Casa Dorada, comes from the gilded tone of its facade.
Casa Dorada stands at the corner of Ingavi and General Trigo streets, with nine doors on the Ingavi side and a similar number on General Trigo. The building is run as the Casa de la Cultura by the Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho, and inside are an art gallery, a library, a theatre and an auditorium.
The nine storefronts on the ground floor were designed so various types of merchandise from the Navajas family could be accessed from a central inner courtyard. This layout allowed the owners to manage their large trading business efficiently from one location.
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