Old Hospital of the Destitute

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1863-1895 · Authors: Manuel de Oraá, Manuel de Cámara, Antonio Pintor y Ocete

This is one of the best examples of neoclassical architecture in Santa Cruz. It was built to house the city's civil hospital and was erected on the site of an earlier building that had existed there since the mid-18th century, on the other side of the Santos ravine.

The project for the new hospital was drafted in 1853 by the architect Manuel de Oraá, who designed a magnificent two-storey façade with lowered arch openings, a large cornice with dentil moulding, and a third tier of small windows. The central section of the frontispiece stands out, emphasised by pilasters, individual balconies, and a triangular pediment. The side pavilions are a miniature reproduction of the main body. All elements are properly combined, reflecting the evident compositional clarity of the classical architectural language.

A violent fire in 1888 destroyed much of the building. The architect Manuel de Cámara undertook the reconstruction work, mainly intervening in the interior and the south wing.

In the 20th century, to provide more space, another architect, Antonio Pintor, was commissioned to carry out an extension that would allow the building to reach San Sebastián street. Thus, in 1920, on the side of that street, the building gained an additional storey.

The creation in 1971 of the General and Clinical Hospital of Tenerife, now the Hospital Universitario de Canarias (University Hospital of the Canary Islands), meant that the Hospital of the Destitute ceased to provide healthcare services. In 1983, the building was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Asset of Cultural Interest) with the category of Monument. Since 1994 it has housed the headquarters of what was called the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre, today the Museo de la Naturaleza y Arqueología (MUNA) (Museum of Nature and Archaeology).

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