La Casa Miller – The “Mullah” Building

When he was born, he knew deep inside his guts he was meant to do great things.  Exactly what they were, were not clear to him yet.  When the time was right, he packed his few belongings and headed to the gold mines of California where people were making a bundle discovering glittering golden nuggets.  As many other forty-niners did, he sailed to Colón and then struggled his way through the thick jungles of the isthmus until he reached Panama City where he would sail North to the golden state of California.

Oscar Müller was little impressed with what he finally saw in California after, more than likely, not finding any of the shiny metal. He promptly returned to Panama, however, where he eventually managed to find his fortune.   There was still fire in the belly to accomplish great things.  Indeed in the narrow isthmus of Panama he found a large golden nugget—his wife.

Once established in Panama City, his son Carlos Müller, seized upon the opportunity to secure a three lot tract of land, rented of course, from the Panama Railroad Company in order to raise a residential four level type structure of 76 apartments. The ground floor units would be wholly dedicated to commercial establishments. There were shops, apartments, and even a jail for women on the ground floor. This was the birth of Casa Müller in the year 1910.

As your are probably aware, thousands of Antilleans were contracted by the Panama Canal Commision to build the ditch across the isthmus.  This numerous work force was in urgent need of housing, which gave the birth to the districts of Calidonia (which only had 800 inhabitants when the Müller Building project began), Rio Abajo, El Marañón, San Miguel, El Granillo, El Chorrillo, Malambo and several others. These Westindian salaried men, with large amounts of spending cash were the potential customers for Mr. Muller’s project, since no there were no other large companies operating in Panama to back his business endeavor.

To build his housing project, Muller appointed Joaquín Rodríguez Londoño, who was nicknamed “El Maicero.   He was a Colombian construction foreman who was well-known in Panama City at the time.  Finding a formal architect to do the job would be too expensive and they were very sparse in the area.

Müler insisted the building should be similar to the architectural style of the grand Tivoli Hotel in the former Panama Canal Zone; that is, with ample corridors and high ceilings to facilitate air ventilation.

 The Müller Building would also eventually have the unique triangular shape so favored by the architect and it is said that this shape would commemorate the first transatlantic ship that would cross the Canal.

Once completed, in part of the bottom floor a small jail or women’s detention center was established with its police station and a fire service station in case of fires which were very frequent at the time.  At one time Mr. Müller very astutely began offering his renters a one month free (rental) bonus if they detected the beginnings of any fire and managed to put it out. This ultimately became a double-edged sword since many people caused or simulated the beginning of a fire in order to avoid paying rent.

Another peculiar thing about Müller Building—known by the African-Caribbean population as “Mullah Building” or “Casa Miller”—was that nobody really ever spoke of its exact location or an address in our modern sense of the word. The building was actually located on Central Avenue (today called Via España) between 22nd, 23rd and 24th Streets. You needed only to say “Müller Building” or indicate it on any postal remittance and there you were.

This wonderful edifice was demolished circa 1972; a sad decision indeed.  La Casa Miller and several other similar architectural icons of this era, should have been preserved.  Many historians agree that Casa Miller became known as the largest wooden residential building of its kind ever built in the world.

I was fortunate to be in Panama City when this building was operating in 1962.  Then I went to study to Costa Rica—and when I returned–the structure was gone.  Only rare photographs exists today.

During my foray into Mi Pueblito, I found a replica of the famous Müller House.  It looked exactly like the real thing.  Below are a couple of pictures of the long departed Panama City landmark.

A reproduction of the Müller House located at Mi Pueblito in Panama City, Panama. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of a closer look of the demolished Müller House. You can clearly identify the name of the building in the picture. Photo ©Omar Upegui R.

Oscar Müller made his great dream come true alright; only we were not responsible enough to preserve it for posterity.  I deeply regret it.  Cést la vie.  Good Day.

Source:  Casa Muller – “Mullah” Building by Roberto A. Reid

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