Edificio Coltabaco, Cultural heritage building in downtown Cali, Colombia.
The Edificio Coltabaco, also called El Puente, stands at the southern end of the Ortiz bridge by the Parque de los Poetas in downtown Cali. Architect Guillermo Garrido gave it a Spanish Renaissance style of Sevillian line with Mudejar influence. It was built with three floors and a central tower; a fourth floor added in 1950 changed its proportions while keeping the decoration. Its structure combines reinforced concrete with lightweight brick partitions.
The building was constructed in 1936 by the Colombian Tobacco Company as their regional headquarters and served that purpose until 1991. After decades as a corporate office, it was donated to the city of Cali in 2016.
The building houses the Popular Institute of Culture, where art exhibitions and educational workshops happen throughout the year. Visitors can experience local artists and community programs working in these spaces.
Restoration finished on 30 September 2024, and the building reopened in October 2024 as the IUIPC's Coltabaco seat, with its structural reinforcement complete. It stands at the southern end of the Ortiz bridge, beside the Parque de los Poetas on the right bank of the Cali River, near the Jorge Isaacs theatre and La Ermita church. The former San Fernando seat's administrative, legal and financial staff moved here.
Locals once mistook the building for a church: passers-by reportedly knelt and crossed themselves before its tower, which rose above the top floor until the 1950 fourth level was added. The tower still stands, but the building's original silhouette changed with that floor.
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