[2] Plaza Vieja was the site of executions, processions, bullfights, and fiestas - all witnessed by Havana's wealthiest citizens, who looked on from their balconies.

The urban architectural complex of Plaza Vieja is represented by valuable colonial buildings from the XVII, XVIII and XIX and some examples of the early twentieth century.

It was built as a popular alternative to Plaza de Armas, the military and government main center, the name changed when another important square emerged in town, the Plaza del Santo Cristo.

In 1814 with the birth of the Mercado Nuevo (new market) in the Plaza del Cristo, the Old Square was renamed to differentiate it.

The original Carrara marble fountain surrounded by four dolphins was demolished in the 1930s when President Gerardo Machado (1871-1939) built an underground parking lot here.