A sunset walk in Altamira Square

Today in the late afternoon, I went with my husband to the Altamira area, where he had to pick up some things. As today was a holiday, the city was quiet and with little traffic.

Altamira is one of the neighborhoods in the east, in the municipality of Chacao. Its main square is one of the emblematic places of the city. Today without the frenzy of traffic, it was easy to park around the square. So on our way home, we decided to stop and walk around the square.

It was getting dark, and the sky had pink streaks that made a perfect frame to take some pictures of the square.

Today, due to the holiday, it was much less crowded than it usually is.

This square was built when the Altamira neighborhood was constructed in the 40s. The project was designed by Luis Roche. The epicenter of the square is an Obelisk that today has an inscription of Luis Roche. And one of the side avenues to the square is also named after him. When the square was built, it was given the name Plaza Altamira.

However, years later the name of the square was changed to Plaza Francia, in an agreement between both countries to have in Caracas a square called France and in Paris a square called Venezuela. So officially the name of this square is Plaza Francia, although it is still popularly known as Plaza Altamira.

This is the view from the end of the main fountain towards Francisco de Miranda Avenue. The building in the background is the Torre Británica, another emblematic building of the area.

This is one of the views of Luis Roche Avenue from the square.

And although the square was not very crowded, a few people were walking around. Others were sitting on the benches in the square talking. Some families were taking pictures and some people were walking their dogs.

The obelisk at night is illuminated with the colors of the Venezuelan flag.

It has been a while since I stopped to walk in the plaza. And today, it was very nice to stroll or just sit and watch the people go by.

The building in the background is called Altamira and was built in the 1940s by an architect named Arthur Kahn. It was an architectural icon of the time.

I have always loved it. The concave building seems to hug the square, and the whole thing is framed by the Avila in the background. On clear sky days when you can see the mountain in its splendor, it is a perfect picture of the city.

After a few strolls around the square, we returned to the car to go home and that concluded today's short walk.

This is my post for this week's #wednesdaywalk challenge hosted by @tattoodjay in collaboration with #makemesmile hosted by @elizacheng.

Thank you for reading!

_{All images and writing are my own unless otherwise stated.
Lead image edited with Canva}

© CoquiCoin

April 19, 2023

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