Panama City and Talk:Sir Samuel Walker, 1st Baronet: Difference between pages

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{{dablink|This article is about the capital of Panama. For other uses of Panama, see [[Panama (disambiguation)]].}}

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'''Panama City''' ([[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''Ciudad de Panamá''), population 708,738, with a total metro population of 1,063,000 is the [[capital]] of [[Panama]], located at the [[Pacific]] entrance of the [[Panama Canal]], at {{coor dm|8|58|N|79|32|W|}}. Panama City is the political, administrative and cultural center of the country. [[Juan Carlos Navarro]] is the current mayor of the city.

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{| class="infobox" style="font-size: 90%"

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|[[City Coat of Arms]]

|-help me

| colspan="2" align="center" |[[Image:Escudo ciudad panama.png|120px]]

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|General Information

|-

| [[Foundation]]:

| [[August 15]], [[1519]]

|-

| [[Province]]:

| Panama

|-

| [[Area code]]:

| 507 (Panama)

|-

| Homepage:

| http://www.municipio.gob.pa

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|Politics

|-

| [[Mayor]]

| [[Juan Carlos Navarro]] ([[Democratic Revolutionary Party|PRD]])

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|Population

|-

| valign="top" | [[Population]]:

| 708,738 <small> ''(2000)''</small> <br />

|-

| - rank in Panama:

| 1

|-

| [[Population density]]:

| 275/km²

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|Geography

|-

| [[Area]]:

| 2,560.8 [[Square kilometre|km²]]

|-

| valign="top" | [[Geographic coordinate system|Location]]:

| <nowiki>8º 54' </nowiki> n. <br /><nowiki>79º 19' </nowiki> w.

|-

| [[Altitude]]

| 0 [[meter|m]]

|-

! colspan="2" style="background:#EFEFEF"|Administrative Structure

|-

| valign="top" | Corregimientos (Mayoral jurisdictions):

| 19

|-

|}

==Brief history==

[[Image:DirkvdM monumento a balboa.jpg|thumb|300px|The Monumento a Balboa]]

The city was founded on [[August 15]], [[1519]], by [[Pedrarias Davila|Pedro Arias de Ávila]], also known as Pedrarias Dávila. Within a few years of its founding, the city became a launching point for the exploration and conquest of [[Peru]] and a transit point 0 men attacked and looted the city, which was subsequently destroyed by fire. The ruins of the old city still remain and are a popular tourist attraction known as ''Panamá la Vieja''. It was rebuilt in [[1673]] in a new ___location about 5 miles west-southwest of the original city. This ___location is now known as the ''Casco Viejo'' or ''Old Hull'' of the city.

Discovery of [[gold rush|gold]] in California in [[1848]] led to an upsurge in travellers crossing the isthmus en route to the west coast of North America. The year before the discovery of gold, the [[Panama Railroad]] Company <ref>[http://www.trainweb.org/panama/history.html ''The Panama Railroad'' from Trainweb]</ref> was formed, but the railroad did not begin operation until [[1855]]<ref>[http://cdl.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/moa/pageviewer?frames=1&coll=moa&view=50&root=%2Fmoa%2Fharp%2Fharp0010%2F&tif=00553.TIF&cite=http%3A%2F%2Fcdl.library.cornell.edu%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmoa%2Fmoa-cgi%3Fnotisid%3DABK4014-0010-69 ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'' March 1855, Volume 10, Issue 58, p.543]</ref>. Between [[1848]] and [[1869]], the year the first transcontinental railroad was completed in the United States, about 375,000 persons crossed the isthmus from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and 225,000 in the opposite direction. That traffic greatly increased the prosperity of the city during that period.

[[Image:Panamacity night.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Panama city at night]]

Not surprisingly, construction of the [[Panama Canal]] was of great benefit to the infrastructure of the city. Of particular note are the improvements in health and sanitation brought about by the American presence in the Canal Zone. These include the eradication of [[yellow fever]] and [[malaria]] and the introduction of a first-rate [[water purification|water supply]] system. However, most of the laborers for the construction of the canal were brought in from the Caribbean, which created unprecedented racial and social tensions in the fledgling city.

During [[World War II]], construction of military bases and the presence of larger numbers of U.S. military and civilian personnel brought about unprecedented levels of prosperity to the city. Panamanians had limited access, or no access at all, to many areas in the Canal Zone neighboring the Panama City metropolitan area. Some of these areas were military bases accessible only to United States personnel.

In the late 1970s and through the 1980s Panama City became an international [[banking]] center bringing along with it a lot of undesirable attention as an international money-laundering center. In 1989 after nearly a year of tension between the United States and Panama, [[George Herbert Walker Bush|President Bush]] ordered the [[United States invasion of Panama|invasion of Panama]] to depose the leader of Panama, General [[Manuel Noriega]]. As a result of the action a portion of the ''El Chorrillo'' neighborhood, which consisted mostly of old wood-framed buildings dating back to the 1900s (though still a large slum area), was destroyed by fire. Eventually, the U. S. helped finance the construction of large cinderblock apartment buildings to replace the destroyed structures. Panama City remains a banking center, although with very visible controls in the flow of [[cash]]. [[Shipping]] is handled through port facilities in the neighboring municipality of [[Balboa, Panama|Balboa]] operated by the [[Hutchison Whampoa]] Company of [[Hong Kong]] and through several ports on the Caribbean side of the isthmus. Balboa, which is located within the greater Panama City metropolitan area, was formerly part of the [[Panama Canal Zone]], and in fact the administration of the former Panama Canal Zone was headquartered there.

==Panama city as a tourist destination==

[[Image:DirkvdM panama plaza.jpg|thumb|300px|A plaza in Casco Viejo]]

[[Image:DirkvdM panama pelicans.jpg|thumb|300px|Downtown Panama, seen from the pier of the yacht club]]

[[Image:DirkvdM casco viejo.jpg|thumb|300px|Casco Viejo, seen from Cerro Ancón]]

The city has numerous tourist attractions including world-class hotels and restaurants. Of particular interest to tourists are various sites located in the ''Casco Viejo'', including

* ''Las Bóvedas''[http://www.thepanamareport.com/geeklog/public_html/article.php?story=20060224141953938], literally ''The Vaults'', a waterfront promenade jutting out into the Pacific;

* The National Institute of Culture Building and across from it, the French Embassy;

* The Cathedral on ''Plaza de la Catedral'';

* ''Teatro Nacional'', a recently renovated performance center, with outstanding natural acoustics; It provides an intimate performance environment, seating about 800 guests.

* ''Museo del Canal Interoceánico'' (InterOceanic Canal Museum);

* Numerous restaurants located near the French embassy.

* ''Palacio de las Garzas'' (Heron's Palace), the official name of the presidential palace. There actually are [[Heron]]s in the compound.

Further Southwest one can climb the hill Cerro Ancón for an overview of the city (see photograph at the end of the article) and beyond that is the fairly well-known bridge that spans the [[Panama Canal]], the [[Bridge of the Americas]]. A new attraction is the new bridge over the [[Panama Canal]], the [[Centennial Bridge]].

Located just outside the Casco Viejo, on the ''Plaza [[Cinco de Mayo]]'' (not to be confused with the Mexican Cinco de Mayo) is the ''Museo Antropológico Reina Torres de Araúz'', with precious metal artifacts from pre-columbian Panama. The museum is located on what was the Pacific terminal of the [[Panama Railroad]] which itself is an architecturally significant building.

The area immediately east of the Pacific entrance of the canal--known as the Amador Causeway[http://www.thepanamareport.com/geeklog/public_html/article.php?story=20060222115335326]-- is currently being developed as a major tourist center with many North-American style malls, hotels, discos and restaurants. Currently the Smithsonian Institute operates a station and a small museum open to the public on Culebra Island, just off the island of Naos (See inset). The noted American architect [[Frank Gehry]] known for the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum and the Disney Concert Center in Los Angeles, has designed a structure which will be built in this area. The structure, called ''The Bridge of Life museum'' is scheduled to be completed in 2007.

Visitors who wish to experience more of the local atmosphere are advised to look for accommodations nearer the commercial and financial center of the city, that is the neighborhoods of Bella Vista, Marbella or El Cangrejo. For the tighter budgets Casco Viejo is a better option. In the neighborhood known as Bella Vista, Calle Uruguay is home to Panama's newest cosmopolitan restaurants among them La Rioja, Bistro 10, Peperoncini and La Posta.

The city is also growing as a haven for seniors of the United States due to low tax incentives and a tropical climate. The demand for space in Panama City has sparked a construction boom and architecturally beautiful skyscrapers are being to built as condos to supply the number of people entering the city. Two new buildings include the Palacio De La Bahia and the Ice Tower of which both are to top 1,000 feet high and will add more beauty to the city's already dense skyline.

==Beaches==

Unfortunately, the waters in the coast of the city are polluted, and bathing in them is not allowed. However there are beaches available nearby. The closest is the Playa Bonita Complex, right next to the city, crossing the [[Bridge of the Americas]]. There are also many more beaches, in the Pacific and Caribbean side (one of the advantages of Panama is the possibility of bathing in two oceans easily, as they are just hours apart). In recent years there has been huge development of beach hotels. Farther afield, visitors can travel to beaches in the interior, Bocas del Toro and the ''Archipiélago de las Perlas'' in the Gulf of Panama (where [[Survivor (TV series)]] has filmed 3 seasons)

<gallery>

Image:DirkvdM panama roofs.jpg|The tower of Iglesia del Carmen.

Image:DirkvdM panama blue.jpg|View from the university grounds.

Image:040418 9408.jpg|In Casco Viejo.

</gallery>

<gallery>

Image:DirkvdM panama harbour.jpg|A view of the high rise of modern Panamá City, across the Bahía de Panamá, from the old harbour near the Mercado Publico in San Felipe (Casco Viejo).

Image:IMG_NAOS.JPG|Causeway connecting Naos, Perico and Flamengo Islands to the mainland. A bicycle path parallels the roadway.

Image:PanamaCityFromNaos.jpg|Panama City at dusk as seen from the Bay of Panama.

</gallery>

==Nature==

Panamanian nature is comparable to that of [[Costa Rica]]. Near Panama City are some of the most accessible nature reserves. A taste of this can be found in the sizeable ''Parque Natural Metropolitano'', which, ironically, is difficult to reach without motorised transport. An even easier nature-option is the [[Centro de Exhibiciones Marinas]] on the causeway, which is more than just an aquarium.

But to get a better impression of Panamanian nature near the city, it is convenient that the [[Panama Canal]] needs nature around it as a water catchment (a rare example of a vast engineering project in the middle of nature that actually helped preserve that very nature). Along the western side of the Canal is the [[Parque Nacional Soberania]]. On the way there one can also visit the lovely and spacious [[Summit botanical gardens and zoo]]. In the national park the best known trail is the [[Pipeline Road]], popular with birdwatchers.

==Transportation==

[[Image:DirkvdM panama bridge.jpg|thumb|300px|The 'Puente de las Americas', crossing the Panamá Canal to the North of Panamá City, seen from the foot of Cerro Ancón.]]

Panama City's international airport is [[Tocumen International Airport]] located on the eastern outskirts of the city and easily accessible by a modern toll road from the financial district. Under normal traffic conditions travellers should allow 45 minutes to the airport from the financial district. Cab fare to and from the airport is about US$30, though many hotels provide shuttle service. Major car rental companies have facilities at the airport, but first-time visitors are advised to take a cab and rent a car at a city rental office. There are direct flights between Tocumen and New York, Newark, Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, and all major cities in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Panama City also has an in-town airport ''Marcos A. Gelabert'', in the area once occupied by [[Albrook Air Force Base]]. This airport serves domestic flights to the interior of Panama and the ''Las Perlas'' islands in the Pacific.

Panama City has an extensive system of public transportation implemented by a fleet of colorful buses. However, it is recommended that to get about town, first-time visitors should either rent a car, or should use taxis which are plentiful, safe and inexpensive. Most taxi fares within the city are under US$3. Air-conditioned buses are available from Panama City to most other parts of the country. These leave from a huge Bus Terminal near the ''Marcos A. Gelabert'' airport. Also, the Allbrook Mall has a giant bus terminal which acts as a hub for the country.

==Education==

The [[Universidad de Panamá]], [[Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá]] and [[Universidad Santa María la Antigua]] are the main institutions of higher learning in Panama City. Numerous other educational and cultural institutions are located in the city, and it was chosen to be the [[American Capital of Culture]] for the year 2003 (jointly, with [[Curitiba]], [[Brazil]]).

==Newspapers, online news, and guidebooks==

Panama City has numerous daily newspapers, most with an online presence:

* [http://www.prensa.com La Prensa]

* [http://www.elpanamaamerica.com.pa El Panamá América]

* [http://www.estrelladepanama.com La Estrella de Panamá]

The English language newspaper ''The Star & Herald'' suspended publication in 1987. It had started publication as ''The Panama Herald'' in 1851.

For news in English and commentary about politics, economics and society in Panama see the online publication

* [http://www.thepanamanews.com The Panama News]

A popular guide to Panama City (and beyond):

* Michèle Labrut, ''Getting to know Panama'', Focus Publications (Int) S.A.

Internet Search Engines

* [http://www.panama1.com Panama1.com] is Panama's Internet Search Engine with articles about Panama and videos showing sights of Panama.

== Sports ==

* Association Football

** ''Panama City'' is home to three professional teams in the country's top soccer league, [[ANAPROF]]:

*** [[CD Policía Nacional]]

*** [[Plaza Amador]]

*** [[Tauro F.C.]]

** ''Panama City'' is also home to two professional teams in the country's second level league, [[Segunda Division (Panama)|Primera A (Segunda Division)]]:

*** [[Deportivo Italia]]

*** [[Rio Abajo F.C.]]

==References==

<references />

==External links==

* [http://www.municipio.gob.pa Official website for Panama City]

* [http://www.visitpanama.com Official Panama's Tourism Bureau page]

* [http://www.copa-airlines.co.uk/ Copa Airlines UK Site - The National Airline of Panama]

{{Geolinks-cityscale|8.9788|-79.5225}}

[[Image:panama_city.jpg|thumb|590px|left|A view of Panama City from the hill Cerro Ancón]]

[[Category:Coastal cities]]

[[Category:Cities in Panama]]

[[Category:Capitals in North America]]

[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Panama]] <!-- the old city -->

[[Category:1519 establishments]]

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