Produce Exchange Building, Commercial exchange building in Old Havana, Cuba

The Lonja del Comercio stands on the north side of Plaza de San Francisco de Asís in Old Havana. Built from 1907 to 1909 by architect Tomás Mur with José Toraya and the U.S. firm Purdy & Henderson, it has a stone facing over a steel frame, a square plan, and a dome topped by a bronze Mercury. A sixth floor was added in 1939.

The building was constructed in 1909 as a commodity exchange for agricultural products and functioned as a central trading hub. Following the Cuban Revolution of 1959, its role changed, but the structure remained.

The bronze Mercury atop the dome, a replica of Giovanni Bologna's messenger god, announced the building's trading purpose to ships and passersby. Since the 1990s renovation the offices have housed the Brazilian embassy, the CNN news agency and Habana Radio, so the old exchange is again a working address on the plaza.

The building stands at Lamparilla No. 2, set obliquely to the north side of Plaza de San Francisco de Asís, next to the Basílica Menor de San Francisco de Asís. It is a working office building housing national and foreign firms, the Brazilian embassy, CNN and Habana Radio, so visits are limited to the square outside. Look up from the plaza for the bronze Mercury on the dome.

The steel framework was designed by American firm Purdy and Henderson, bringing modern construction methods to early 1900s Cuba. This technical innovation was notable for the region at the time and showed the international engineering standards used in this trading center.