A House of God

Snapshot of Episcopalian St. Luke’s Cathedral built in 1922 in the former Panama Canal Zone. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Yesterday morning, my wife and I drove over to the former Panama Canal Zone to hunt for subjects to capture with our cameras.  We were short of pictures and we needed a refill badly.  There were three subjects I was interested in shooting.  The first one was a rotunda being built on Avenida de los Mártires with a four-lane tunnel; the second was a majestic building which will house el Tribunal Electoral and third one is the building that houses the Panama Supreme Court.  All three subjects are impressive sites and depict the flourishing modernization of the city.

Even though a church was not on my schedule, as soon as I laid my eyes on this enticing building, I knew it had to be captured with my Birthday Camera (Canon PowerShot A720 IS).  It is a building that seemed to be extracted from the Florence of the XV century during the splendor of the de’ Medici’s dynasty (Giovanni Medici, Cosimo Medici, and Lorenzo Medici “il Magnífico”).  Florence is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance, and has been called the Athens of the Middle Ages.

In the picture above, you can enjoy the beauty of the Renaissance by observing the eight Roman columns at the entrance of the edifice and the splendid tower of  toward your left.

When I studied art and history in college in Costa Rica, I was infatuated with the dome of Florence’s cathedral.  The man who would build the elusive structure was Fillipo Brunelleschi.  He based his work on Ancient Rome—The Pantheon.  It was one of the most fascinating buildings in the collective imagination of the Western world for a long time.  In 1436 the dome was finally completed.  The greatest architectural feat of the Western world.

The cathedral, topped by Brunelleschi’s dome, dominates the Florentine skyline. The Florentines decided to start building it— late in the 13th century, without a design for the dome. The project proposed by Brunelleschi in the 14th century was the largest ever built at the time, and the first major dome built in Europe since the two great domes of Roman times—the Pantheon in Rome, and Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.

Orbiting like planets around the sun, inside my head, were the grandiose sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo Da Vinci, and  Botticelli.  The compositions and music of Alexander Agricola, Johannes Ghiselin, and Heinrich Isaac added to my recollections of the Renaissance in Flornce.

Snapshot of the entire building including the magnificent tower on your left. When I was there they were celebrating a Sunday service at the church. Even though it was built in 1922, the building is extremely well preserved. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The area of the former Panama Canal Zone is home to many beautiful churches on both the Pacific and Atlantic Side.  All of them are in top shape and in full operation to serve our Lord.

During the upcoming days I’ll include pictures of my sojourn to the sites mentioned in preceding paragraphs.  Keep your eyes open. Good Day.

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Air Traffic Control Tower

Snapshot of a miniscule air traffic control tower “growing” in the tropical forest in the former Howard Air Force Base in Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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The Gamboa Bridge

The original truss bridge carries the Panama Canal railway over the Chagres River. It dates from 1911. The attached one lane wooden bridge carries highway traffic—very slowly.  As a construction point for the canal work, Gamboa (which means a tree of the quince family) first came into prominence when the French Canal Company began excavation.

Over the Chagres River, at Gamboa de French built a bridge over which materials were hauled across the river and to a nearby spillway.  The bridge was about 365 feet long, the north span being a girder about 58 feet long.  In a flood in 1890, this girder was carried away and the pier on which the channel end of it rested, was tipped.  When work on the Panama railroad started. a relocation bridge at Gamboa was initiated in 1907.  The pier was righted and the two truss spans used for construction purposes.

Gamboa is located on a sharp bend of the Chagres River at the point which feeds Lake Gatun. Just south of Gamboa, Lake Gatun and the Chagres meet the Gaillard Cut also known as Culebra Cut where the Canal cuts through the Continental Divide.

A single lane iron and wood bridge crosses the Chagres and is the only road access to Gamboa. This bridge is still in use today. Vehicles waiting to pass over the bridge must wait for a stoplight to enter the bridge, since it is only capable of providing space for one lane of traffic at a time. In December 2010 this bridge was the site of massive flooding and huge floating islands passing under the bridge, with trees violently hitting it, which led to the temporary closure of the Panama Canal.

Below are several snapshots of this picturesque bridge adjacent to the Panama Canal.  Here we go.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge next to the Panama Canal. It's one of the many icons of the famous international waterway. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

The same shot as before, only in bright color. You can see my shadow taking the picture. The sun was radiant this Sunday morning in Gamboa. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge and the Gatun Lake towards your left. The sight of the Panama Canal on this intersection is magnificent. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from a different angle. The bridge is used by the Panama Railroad to transport containers from one ocean to the other. This railroad functions like a dry canal moving merchandise to different ports of the world. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the Gamboa Bridge taken from the railroad. This is the same railroad where I fell after taking these pictures. Glad nothing serious happened. Only a good shakeup. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Contemplating The Metropolis From The Top

Snapshot of "The Twisters", their father, and my wife enjoying the view of Panama City from the heights of Ancon Hill. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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The Poetess of Ancon Hill

Amelia Denis de Icaza (1836-1911) is the first Panamanian poetess to publish her poems in her native country.  She is considered one of the best romantic poetess deeply in love with her country.  Her nationalistic and nostalgic poem, Al Cerro Ancón, influenced several nationalistic movements which decades later led to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.  This highly political poem reflects her anger for the creation of the Panama Canal Zone by the United States in 1904. Her contribution to regain this narrow strip of land is highly recognized by all Panamanians, as well as the patriotic poems of Demetrio Korsi (1899-1957) .

Other poems by Amelia Denis de Icaza are:  Patria, Hojas Secas, Amor de Madre, A la Muerte de Victoriano Lorenzo.  She was the daughter of a French father and a Panamanian mother.  She lived for almost two decades in Guatemala where she worked as journalist for several newspapers under the name of Elena.  For personal reasons she had to move to Nicaragua in 1894, where she lived until her death in 1911.

Due to her passion for Ancon Hill, the Panama government built a statue in her memory on top of this hill which oversees Panama City.  Below are several pictures of this memorial on the hill she loved so much.

Snapshot of a statue of Amelia Denis de Icaza in a small park on top of Cerro Ancón in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

A close-up picture of the statue of Amelia Denis de Icaza in a small park on top of Ancon Hill in Panama City, Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

Snapshot of the memorial of Amelia Denis de Icaza on Ancon Hill. The poem on the bottom of the picture, "Oda Inflexible", was authored by another Panamanian nationalistic poet, Demetrio Korsi. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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Main Building of the University of Panama – Curundu Branch

Photograph of the main building of the University of Panama - Curundu Branch. It housed the former Curundu Elementary School for the children of the employees of the Panama Canal when the Canal Zone existed. On midday December 31, 1999, the United States relinquished jurisdiction of the Canal Zone to the Republic of Panama. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.

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We Shall Not Forget

At the turn of the Century, the United States was ready to expand.  It was a vigorous nation with a population full of optimism, strength and with a determination to become a world power.  This strong expansionist sentiment motivated the U.S. government to develop a plan for annexation of Spain’s remaining overseas territories including the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam.  This plan led to the an armed military conflict between Spain and the United States that took place between April and August 1898 known as the Spanish-American War.

Expansionism required a strong and swift Navy with presence on both, the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.  Sailing around the tip of South America irritated American war theorists.  But there was a way to overcome this obstacle—building a canal in Central America.  The collapse of the French initiative gave the United States the golden opportunity to finish the canal and become the Master of the seas.

Theodore Roosevelt knew how to move his pawns and took advantage of the situation.  In a show of political shrewdness, he took the Isthmus of Panama and built the Panama Canal.  Roosevelt’s policies were characterized by his comment, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” But he would have to pay a price—the loss of thousands of American workers’ lives.  This post is about remembering those Americans who gave their lives in an effort to fulfill the greatest accomplishment of the United States in modern history.

The structure of this post consists of two parts.  The first part, is the written story of the  American workers who died during the construction of the  Panama Canal.  The second part, consist of photographs to strengthen the message.  I followed the storyboard format widely used by filmmakers, animators, comic book illustrators, screenplay writers and photomatics artists; just to name a few.

I.  The American Battle Cemetery in Corozal – Panama

Thousands of Americans citizens rest in peace at a burial ground in Panama known as the Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial. This holy ground is operated by the American Battle Monuments Commission since 1982 following the guidelines of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977.

This 16-acre memorial ground  is the resting place of  5,364 American veterans and others. A paved walk leads from the Visitors Center to a small memorial that sits atop a knoll overlooking the grave’s area.   The memorial consists of a paved plaza with a 12-foot rectangular granite obelisk flanked by two flagpoles on which fly the United States and Panamanian flags. Engraved on the obelisk in English and Spanish is the following inscription:

THIS MEMORIAL HAS BEEN ERECTED BY THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN HUMBLE TRIBUTE TO ALL INTERRED HERE
WHO SERVED IN ITS ARMED FORCES OR
CONTRIBUTED TO THE CONSTRUCTION,
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
THE PANAMA CANAL

The cemetery is open daily to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (-5 GMT) except December 25th and January 1st. It is open on host country holidays. When the cemetery is open to the public, a staff member is on duty in the Visitor Building to answer questions and escort relatives to grave and memorial sites.

The Corozal American Cemetery is located approximately 3 miles north of Panama City, Panama, just off Avenue Omar Torrijos Herrera between the Panama Canal Railway Company train station and Ciudad Del Saber (formerly Fort Clayton).

To reach the cemetery, turn right on Calle Rufina Alfaro at the Crossroads Bible Church and proceed about ½ mile to the cemetery.  Taxi and bus service to the cemetery are available from Panama City.

II.  Photo Gallery of the Corozal American Cemetery and Memorial

Photograph of the entrance of the Corozal American Cemetery adequately protected by two security guards. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph depicting the American and the Panamanian flag flying high above the Corozal memorial in the former Panama Canal Zone. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

A panoramic view of the Corozal memorial ground showing part of the Visitors Center building on the left side of the picture. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

An over-view of the neat rows of white crosses at the American Corozal Cemetery surrounded by lush tropical foliage. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Photograph of the marble tombstone of Laura L. Sanders with two stuffed toys poised above the lawn. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Legend of the memorial at the burial ground which is self-explanatory. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Picture of the Visitors Center building whose main function is to assist visitors of the cemetery. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

A bird's eye view of the cemetery showing beautiful tropical flowers and well- trimmed lawns growing within its premises. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

A quote from a distinguished military leader that encapsulates the message of this post is, “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”—General of the Armies, John J. Pershing.

This will wrap up my foray into the cemeteries of the former Canal Zone and its immediate surroundings.  It meant a lot to me to be able to share with the readers of Lingua Franca, the memories of those who died in this place while building the Panama Canal.  My next series of pictures will be of the Miraflores Locks at the Panama Canal itself.  Until then, Good Day.

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The Balboa Police Station Building

The Police Division has been in the Canal Zone since the construction of the Panama Canal in 1904.  A disciplined core was needed to maintain law and order in a territory full of people from different nationalities and humble backgrounds.   The population in the Canal Zone increased abruptly in 1906 as a result of the importation of European laborers by the Panama Canal Commission.

William F. Kessler, Chief of the Police Division in the Canal Zone,  explained the situation in an Internet article dubbed, “A History of the Canal Zone Police”:

“The European laborers were restless, suspicious, and excitable. They had a different class of temperament than that of the West Indian laborer.  The number of arrests for intoxication, disorderly conduct, fighting and crimes of violence increased as the number of European laborers increased.

On the whole, the West Indian laborer was docile, law abiding, and had confidence in the ability of the government to treat him fairly.   These characteristics made the maintenance of order among the West Indian a lesser police concern.”

The Canal Zone Police Division was established in 1904 for the purpose of preserving the integrity of the United States interest in an unfamiliar and challenging setting.  As a result of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 which terminated the 1903 Isthmian Canal Treaty transferring the Canal Zone Zone to the Republic of Panama, the work and responsibility of the Canal Zone Police Division ended on  March 31, 1982.

Having outlived its utility to the international waterway, the Canal Zone Police disappeared from the Panamanian landscape like its former police districts which had been covered by the flood waters that had created the Panama Canal.  However some of its building still exists in the former Canal Zone.

During a recent visit to the town of Balboa on the Pacific Side, I encountered the building that used to accommodate the Balboa Police Station next to the Y.M.C.A. Building.  The structure is basically intact.  It is now occupied by the Administration Department of a monument dedicated to a Panamanian political leader (e.g., Dr. Arnulfo Arias Madrid).

Below are two photographs of the Balboa Police Station.  Here we go.

The former Balboa Police Station located at Balboa in the former Canal Zone. The building looks lonely and inactive; very different from the period when it was occupied by the Canal Zone Police Division. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

Another view of the former Balboa Police Station. It was sad to see how vacant and solitary the structure was. No activity at all. That is not the way I remembered this building during the period I worked for Texaco Antilles at La Boca Tank Farm. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

The crime rate at the Panama Canal Zone was almost nonexistent.  Now that Panama took over the Canal Zone, the area is not as safe as before.  I guess, there is no such thing as a free lunch.  Good Day.

Source:  A History of the Canal Zone Police – William F. Kessler

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The Balboa Elementary School

The town of Balboa, founded by the United States during the construction of the Panama Canal, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador credited with discovering the Pacific Ocean. In 1513 it was called Mar del Sur or South Seas because it was discovered while traveling south from the Atlantic Ocean where he started his journey.

The name Balboa, was suggested to the Canal Zone authorities by the Peruvian ambassador to Panama.

The town of Balboa, like most towns in the Canal Zone, was served by Canal Zone Government-operated schools, post office, police and fire stations, commissary, cafeteria, yacht club, service center and recreational facilities. Balboa’s children were educated at the Balboa Elementary School, Balboa High School, and the private St. Mary’s School.

The town was also home to two private banks, a credit union, a Jewish Welfare Board, several Christian denomination churches, civic clubs, a masonic temple and a YMCA.

The demographic changes resulting from the departure of most of the town’s American population has also brought the closure of most of the town’s former public facilities and institutions, including Balboa High School and Balboa Elementary School.

Below is a photograph of the Balboa Elementary School taken on March 22, 2009.  Here we go.

Photograph of the elegant Balboa Elementary School Building located at Balboa, Panama City, Panama. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

If you have been following my recent posts, you would have noticed the beauty of the architecture style of the buildings of the former Canal Zone.  Good Day.

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The Balboa Commissary

David McCullough in his book, “The Path Between The Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870 – 1914″, gives the following account.

“On July 26, 1905, John Stevens arrived to take over as Chief Engineer of the construction. With him was Theodore Shonts, Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commission. They spoke with the the governor of the Canal Zone, Charles Magoon.

Shonts asked: ‘Governor, what’s the matter here?’ Governor Magoon explained the food supply problem.  Shonts said, ‘commissaries must be established immediately, to feed the men at cost.’  ‘When Governor Magoon responded that that would be a violation of an agreement with Panama, Shonts responded, ‘…it’s evident that you haven’t heard the news… I’ve come down here to build the canal…’”

Since labor was almost non-existent in the Isthmus of Panama, it had to be imported from abroad.  That meant these men had to be employed, housed, cared for, sometimes jailed, entertained, and of course…fed.  This was the main and sole responsibility of the Panama Canal commissaries. Shortly after the appointment of Stevens as Chief Engineer of the waterway,  the commissaries were built—circa August, 1905.

Many products for the Canal Zone commissaries were bought from Panama City, and this trade started to contribute significantly to the local economy, though canal purchasing managers still persisted in importing some goods from as far away as Australia.

Canal-related economic value for Panama would increase over 700 percent, from $44 million in the 1950s to $363 million by 1979.

One of the by-products of the commissaries was contraband.  Considerable volumes of merchandise was smuggled into the Panama economy by fat cats.  It was not uncommon to see street peddlers selling Old Milwaukee or Budweiser beer at the slums of El Chorrillo and El Marañón.  Authorities always looked the other way.  It was one of the worst kept secrets in Panama.

Old photograph of the Balboa Commissary at the turn of the century. (Credit: Joe Duvall)

On March 22, 2009 I was at the Balboa Commissary and took the following pictures.  Here we go.

Notice that the basic structure of the building remains exactly the same as the one depicted in the previous photograph. Even the three windows at the top are still there. (Credit: Omar Upegui R.)

The Panama Canal commissaries, together with the theaters and clubhouses, played an important role in the social life of the former Canal Zone.  They were vital elements of the sui generis social tissue created by George W. Goethals at the turn of the century.

Currently the Balboa Commissary is used by the Panama judicial system for clerical offices.    Good Day.

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