Living in Peru : your everyday companion

In this my third set of pictures comparing the past to the present, we move closer to the heart of the historical center of Lima.

Changes in this set of photos can range from dramatic to subtle and the stories and history of the places are better known in this series, compared to the others.

All of these photos are taken from the historical center of Lima.

These photos are of Casa Welch on what is now the pedestrian portion of Jr. Union. The older photo was probably taken before the 1920’s. The façade of the home remains relatively unchanged and has been well preserved over the years. The decorative Urns on the top of the building are gone and the wording “Casa Welch” at the top of the building is gone even though you can still see where the letters were upon close examination. The home is now used as a clothing store.



Even some of the buildings on this section of street have managed to keep their architectural integrity. Some of the balconies are now gone and a new modern building is in the foreground. Of particular interest is the trolley car in the older photo. This form of transportation was eliminated from Lima in 1966 and, as I noted earlier, the street has been converted to foot traffic only.

The Grand Hotel Maury located on the corner of Ucayali and Carabaya Streets and pictured in these photos was torn down and rebuilt in 1956.  The older Hotel was built in 1826 and the old photo of the hotel was taken circa 1900. Although the interior of the hotel is beautiful the old world charm of the structure is completely gone and has been replaced by this modern building. In fact the entire block that this hotel resides on has been replaced by modern buildings. The only remaining piece of interest is the balcony from the 1800s on the Republican building in the extreme foreground, since ones with glass windows were built in this time period with a few exceptions.



The Maury Hotel is noted as being the place that made the Pisco Sour famous and there are many interesting stories about the hotel and its bar. There is a bartender named Eloy Cuadros Cordoba who has worked at the hotel bar for 49 years. He is an amazing fellow and will gladly share his stories with you. The bar also had a name change in 1966 after the owner of the Hotel and Bar, Antonio Bergna, on a bet with the owner of a race horse, Oscar Berckemeyer Pazos. It was named after a famous horse, Dardanus, who won the Premio Internacional de America race. There are even pictures of the horse when he was brought into the hotel bar and served a Pisco Sour. Senor Cuadros has many other interesting stories to tell also. Fortunately the bar in the hotel was rebuilt to retain its old world charm and is a great place to stop in, have a Pisco Sour and hear a story or two.

The Casa de Goyeneche an 18th century mansion and the Church of San Pedro located on Jr. Ucayali show a few changes. Casa de Goyeneche, also known as Casa Rada, has survived time very well. The Banco de Credito del Peru purchased the house in 1971 and restored it to its former glory. The balconies and façade remain unchanged and are in excellent condition. In also appears that the rest of the buildings going towards the church also remain unchanged, retaining their balconies and beautiful facades. The Church of San Pedro was built by the Jesuits from 1623 - 1638 and called the Church of San Pablo Apostol originally. The name was changed to San Pedro in 1767 when the Jesuits were ejected from all Spanish territories. You can easily tell that the towers of the church have been changed in from one photo to the next. The windows on the second floor have been removed and a clock installed on the fourth floor; and the pointed roofs have been replaced with rounded domes.

The front of this church has three doors which are reserved for Cathedrals from what I understand and there is an interesting story which I heard as to how this happened. Apparently the competition for congregants between the various Orders in Lima, especially the Jesuits and the Dominicans was very heavy. Of course the people would prefer to go to a Cathedral versus a regular church if possible, since it symbolized a higher religious status. Apparently the Jesuits wrote to the Pope in Rome asking for permission to have another door added to the church not letting him know that they would be placing it in the front entrance to the church. After it was completed all the Orders in Lima complained to the Pope. His solution was to order that only two doors could be open at the same time.

The Church also contains the oldest bell in all the churches of Peru. It is called, Augustina or La Abuelita (meaning the Granny). In another of its towers it contains the second largest and noisiest bell weighing over 4.5 tons. The bell is so large they had to build the tower around it so it can never be removed without the destruction of the tower itself.