Chorrera uses historic building for museum Panama misses opportunity

The  conversion of  La Chorrera’s old city hall into a building to serve the public. Is an example Panama should be following according to some citizens.

The city  hall has been converted into a local museum based on an initiative by a local university professor. {jathumbnail off}

 The former U.S. Embassy on Avenida Balboa  will soon be knocked down to make way for a 69-storey government office tower. Architects and engineers submitted proposals for alternate uses. Ideas ranged from facilities for the adjacent overcrowded Santo Tomas Hospital, to a center for NGO’s and citizen groups, but no one was listening

Recently graffitti has appeared suggesting that the building, which is part of Panama’s history, dating back to 1938, could become a museum.  But the wreckers hammers are only weeks away.

In more progressive Chorrera the idea for a museum was put forward in 2001 by university professor Arturo Guzman, who had been compiling information on the district since 1976.

 The museum's collection includes documents from many of the older families in the area and pieces donated to the museum by Oriel Zamora, a collector but a lack of display cases has meant that most of the collection remains in storage.

 The collection includes pre-Colombian rustic pottery and tools found on the banks of the River Perequetecito.

The documents include geographical maps owned by the Bishop of Panama, Fray Pedro Morcillo Rubio, dating from 1736. 

The renovation of the building cost $100,000, with $40,000 coming from local sources and the rest from  the Ministry of Economy and Finance.