Panama Canal Monument — Attraction in San Felipe

Historical review

In the early 1920s, President Belisario Porras ordered the construction of a monumental complex that would honor France and the work on the canal.

Architect Leonardo Villanueva Meyer was chosen for the design and the approximate cost was $35,000. It was inaugurated in 1921.

The complex has a semicircle with arches that imitate the Neo-Renaissance style. On the back of the arches are 10 marble tablets, 10 feet high and 6 feet wide, engraved with the history of the Panama Canal, made by Octavio Méndez Pereira.

There are also five busts honoring key leaders of the construction of the French Canal in Panama: Ferdinand de Lesseps, president of the Universal Company of the Interoceanic Canal of Panama; Armand Reclus and Lucien Bonaparte-Wyse, both French naval engineers; Léon Boyer, construction manager; and Pedro J. Sosa, Panamanian civil engineer and construction manager involved in the project.

The complex was declared a national monument by Law No. 2 of January 8, 1920 and was...

The monument is dedicated to the history of plans to dig a canal through Panama and in particular to the failed French effort headed by Ferdinand de Lesseps at the start of the 20th century. On top of the column the French rooster can be seen. At the base five busts of important people involved and a plaque commemorating Dr. Finlay, who discovered that yellow fever is transmitted...

This is a really neat monument chronicling the conception and development of the Panama Canal from the Spanish control of the region through to the US completion of the canal.

Very nice set up, could use a little up keep, but nice a place, next to the coast with wonderful views both day and night. Located just around the corner from a...