AMU
At the site of the former municipal slaughterhouse, the Nuevo Circo de Caracas Company started the construction of a bullring and horseshow arena in 1916, to replace the old Metropolitan Circus. Its design and construction were in charge of Alejandro Chataing and Luis Muñoz Tébar. They developed a 48 meter diameter circular building with a capacity for 12000 spectators. Its architectural expression is concentrated on the main façade: a two-story body, flanked by two towers, whose main entrance is facing the block’s northwest corner. Its neo-Moorish ornamentation was inspired by Spanish bullrings. Built with the construction technique of reinforced concrete with metal beams, experimental at the time, the project contemplated an ornamental garden and a plaza between the arena and the wall demarcating the lot, which today is occupied by the Museum of Architecture. The building, which underwent major reforms in 1928 and 1944, was the capital’s main performing arts center for years, functioning as theater, cinema, and a stage for political meetings. With the inauguration of the Poliedro of Caracas in 1974, it became less important, and stopped working in 1997. The building was declared a Cultural Interest Site, and was restored through a revitalization project that recovered the original polychrome of its façades.
DF-42
DF-43