#23 ANTIGUA CASA DEL DOCTOR MANUEL ARCE TORRES Built 1898-1907. Corner of Benigno Malo and Simon Bolivar.
The French style facade of this building dominates the northwest corner of Calderón Square, displaying a design attributed to the German Redemptorist monk Juan Bautista Stiehle. The first owner, Manuel Arce Torres, who exported straw Panama hats, lived on the outskirts of the city in the El Vecino district, and conceived the building to accommodate living quarters for his family on the upper floors and commercial premises on the ground floor.
This imposing work of architecture testifies to the economic and cultural boom experienced in Cuenca at the beginning of the 20th century.
The building currently houses Del Parque Hotel and Suites on the upper levels, and several popular restaurants and stores on the street level.
A little further down Bolivar Street, the Bolivar Clinic displays formal characteristics very similar to those of this building.
A GUIDE TO CUENCA ARCHITECTURE 