CubaPLUS Magazine

The milestone of the Albear Aqueduct

By: Alina Veranes
Jun 01, 2023
The milestone of the Albear Aqueduct

Considered one of the 7 wonders of Cuban civil engineering, the Albear Aqueduct, built in Havana at the end of the 19th century, has a surprising and gratifying history for Cubans, since in its time it was valued among the most outstanding of its kind in the world.

The milestone of the Albear AqueductStill in active service, with its technological potentialities in optimal condition, it currently supplies 15 percent of the water consumed by the residents of the capital, who are proud to know that it has been declared a National Monument. Since the middle of the 19th century, it became very urgent for the great city of San Cristóbal de La Habana, then with more than 100,000 inhabitants, to improve the volume and quality of its water sources, whose supply was in charge, first, of the so-called Zanja Real and then the Ferdinand VII Aqueduct, completed in 1835.

of a masonry and closed aqueduct system. This would allow the transit of the water flow from the Vento area, through gravity, to its destination, after being channeled for about eleven kilometers. Despite the fact that the brilliant engineer was very meticulous in the forecasts of his project, his realization had to go through long years of economic difficulties and obstacles of various kinds, including those imposed by the course of the 10 Years War (1868-1878).

So that the inauguration could be seen on January 23, 1893, six years after the death of its great architect. The singular work has been recognized as the Albear Aqueduct, in honor of the eminent professional, whose calculations masterfully avoided geological, technological, and sanitary impediments, arisen on site. The final part was in charge of a New York firm, headed by engineer Sherman Gould, who respected the original projects under the supervision of a disciple and follower of Albear, engineer Colonel Joaquín Ruiz. Albear did not see the final art of his project but instead enjoyed the pride of receiving the Gold Medal at the 1878 World's Fair in Paris, where it was considered a masterpiece of 19th-century engineering.

Havana is very fond of the old stones, canals, reservoirs, and spell mechanisms bequeathed by Don Francisco de Albear.

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