Arco Chato, a Historical Jewel in the Old City

Arco Chato, a Historical Jewel in the Old City

María del R. Martínez / The Panama Post

The original Flat Arch was built by Dominican friars in 1678. It was built with a height of 35 feet by 50 feet of length, and it is located at the Old City of the Panamanian capital. The length, shape and antiquity of the monument sparked the curiosity of travelers as well as that of American and French engineers

Built in the middle of the XVIII century, the Arco Chato (Flat Arch) was part of the Santo Domingo Church, and it´s considered a world heritage. With the passage of time, the original structure succumbed, but the monument was completely rebuilt right at its original site three years later.

Silvia Landires, tour guide of the Old City Office (organization in charge of monument restorations and world heritage sites), stated that the monument was rebuilt due to its historical value, which takes us back in time four centuries ago.

History

The Santo Domingo Church and Convent was built by the end of the XVII century, when the city had just moved to a new location. The Flat Arch held up the choir site of the church. It was like a balcony, and it was located on the main entrance, where singers and musicians used to perform. The church altogether had six brick arcs and the roof was made of wood and tiles.

This church burned up during the fire of 1737, called "The Big Fire". Then it burned up once more during the fire of 1756, which is also known as "The Small Fire". Consequently, the temple was abandoned. It was replaced by a small chapel placed at one of the sides of the convent. The Colonial Religious Art Museum is currently located at this very same site.

The ruins of the church deteriorated over the years and were largely demolished in 1913, except for the Flat Arch and the front wall that were left standing.

During years of planning and building the railroad and the canal in Panama; the length, shape and antiquity of the Flat Arch sparked the curiosity of travelers as well as that of American and French engineers.

Landires claimed that according to the legend, the Flat Arch played an important role that influenced the United States decision on building the canal in Panama instead of in Nicaragua. For them, the fact that the Flat Arch was still standing was evidence that seismic activity was less frequent in the isthmus.

The original Flat Arch was built by Dominican friars in 1678, with a height of 35 feet by 50 feet of length, and it is located at the Old City of the Panamanian capital. The original Flat Arch remained standing until November 7, 2003, when it suddenly collapsed.

Restoration

The project to rebuild the monument began on November 17, 2005, and officially ended in March 2007. The monument is not yet open to the public, but those who want to visit it may do so, and will be able to see it and take pictures from the outside.

Although he was not the person in charge of rebuilding the monument, architect Bolusiano Paris Martínez said: "it is identical to the historic Arch (which collapsed) because the profile they used was very accurate, with old photographs, drawings from a few surveys, and even the actual bricks that had fallen were used. Indeed, it is identical to the original".

A government employee said that as a result of the work done on the Flat Arch it became evident that the surrounding site areas, such as the Santo Domingo Church, could be recovered, so the total rebuilding began.

On the other hand, Paris, who is a Spanish architect, explained that the rebuilding tasks were very complex, reason why they fulfilled them in several stages.

The first part of this work was accomplished by doing a complete recording of all of the ruin. This task was performed to have a good understanding of the conditions of the ruin. Then the process of classification of the remains followed, with an entirely archaeological phase, in which old frames, painted postcards, photos and more were used.

Then, the project was developed using the actual design of the structure. The base was made of steel and cement because they wanted to take away some of the weight, which was extremely heavy at approximately two tons per cubic meter of solid brick and masonry work. Finally, the rebuilding took place in November 2005.

The New Arch has two benchmarks. One is at the center and the other one is at the same level in one of its walls. This will tell us in a given time whether or not the structure has been removed.

"This will give us control of the condition of the structure, and a follow up of the same has been recommended at least every six months", said Paris.

The guides of the Old City Office have tours to all the historical monuments in this area on Fridays and Saturdays starting at 11:00 am.