Almeida Barracks

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Military architecture · Year: 1866 · Authors: Salvador Clavijo y Plo

This magnificent building of romantic classicist typology was designed in 1859 as a barracks-fort by military engineer Salvador Clavijo y Plo.

It was located to the north of the urban core, in what was then called Huerta de los Melones, a wide natural terrace overlooking a beach that for a long time was a place for shipbuilding and repair. Possibly the name of one of the owners of these ships (Juan de Almeida) gave the place its name.

Clavijo's project offered a complex with a trapezoidal perimeter shape with batteries in a small fort and a barracks configured by means of a horseshoe-shaped floor plan, solidly built. The order of the openings on its façade stands out, emphasised by stone mouldings, as well as the minimal decoration, limited only to the use of ashlar in cornices and corner bands. Inside, a magnificent courtyard distributes the rooms over two levels. The work was practically completed in 1866.

The site served for years as the barracks for the Mixed Artillery Regiment No. 93. It is currently the seat of the Museo Histórico Militar de Canarias (Canary Islands Military History Museum).

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