Avenida Amílcar Cabral

Avenida Amílcar Cabral is an avenue in the Plateau of Praia, in the very center of Praia, Santiago island, Cape Verde, it is also the neighborhood's longest running street. It is one of the major streets of the city. The street is named after Amílcar Cabral, a hero who struggled against colonial rule. It runs south to north in the west of the Plateau and is entirely two lanes. It is more than a kilometer long, the portion at Praça António Loreno is a pathway. Address numbers are ordered northward. The northern portion forms one of three streets accessing the Plateau with other parts of the city. It is the starting point of the main highway EN1-ST01 starting north of the square, the main traffic flow is bypassed today.

About the street

5ta da Musica on Av. Amilcar Cabral

The avenue from Albuquerque Square

Headquarters of PAICV, on the left is Rua 5 de Julho and Av. Amílcar Cabral on the right

The avenue begins at the intersection with a street and Rampa São Januário, it is next to the newly created square. Buildings at that location includes Casa o Cidadão and the Capeverdean Ministry of Finances building, headquarters of Banco Comercial do Atlântico is not located on the avenue but borders. For the next two intersections, it lies west of Alexandre Albuquerque Square, also known as 12 de Setembro,^[1] the northern intersection is with Rua Patrice Lumumba, both have traffic lights, one of the first two installed in Cape Verde. Numerous buildings are located on the west side including the supermarket Calu e Angela, Banco Interatlântico, Moderna pharmacy, Palácio Cultural da Ildo Lobo in a building with colonial architecture, LG Cabo Verde offices and Mundilar, hotels also at that location includes Praia Confort (or Praia Comfort), Rosymar Inn and Solatlântico, the latter are with modern architecture, nearby the purple-rose building lying north of the square borders and is located on another street, features neoclassical architecture. Trees at the square surround the avenue, Esplanada Morabeza, a restaurant in the esplanade lies near the square, also by the square is the kiosk built in 1926.

Four streets are followed, two are pedestrianized since 2009 on the east side, inbetween is the Praia's city market, once the most busiest, now it's at Sucupira, at the first intersection on the right side is the offices of the airline company TACV, the other office is at the airport. Rua Judice Biker and Rua Dr. António Loreno (then Luis de Camões) are its next intersections, Impar buildings is in the northeast corner of the latter intersection and is located at another street. Two more intersections followed before the 20 degree turn, close by, Rua António Pusich intersects. Rua Abílio Macedo intersects and one of the famous pubs in the city center is 5tal da Música (or Quintal da Música), in two portions of the building have names of the greatest singers of Capeverdean music, in Cape Verde and amongst the Capeverdeans abroad, also in that area has wide parking spaces. Rua Dr. Manuel Arreaga and Rua 5 de Julho are its next intersections, at the corner is the headquarters of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). After a small left curve, on the left side, another bank's headquarters are located, Banco Caboverdiano de Negócios west of Rua Domingos Ramos along with its square. The avenue partly runs west of Liceu Domingos Ramos and makes a 65 degree left curve then a 15 degree right curve before Rua PMI, the only pedestrian bridge is located there, from there it is in the neighrborhood of Fazenda, the remaining intersection is Rua Cruz Vermelha (after the Red Cross) and finishes at the stoplights at Ruas Caixa Economica and do Aeroporto, the northern part enters Rua Ché Guevara.

It features colonial and neoclassical architecture addressed to the street and numerous, there are also modern architecture located on the avenue.

Elevation varies, it is 30 meters above sea level at the starting point, 28 meters west of Albuquerque Square, 33 meters at Rua Dr António Loreno, 34 meters west of Domingos Ramos Circle. The street descends downward where it is 24 meters in the middle and 12 meters at Rua PMI and up to the terminus, the lowest point of the avenue.

History

The street was constructed as early as the early 15th century when it was a road and connected the center of the center of the settlement, later it connected north linking the middle of the island. Later its streets became predominantly to a grid plan when Praia grew, it grew in the 18th and the 19th centuries. West of the street, the main square was built in 1826, later it adopted the name Albuquerque Square. More colonial buildings were added in the northern portions in the 1850s, the 1880s and the 1930s in the northernmost portion. Some of the colonial built buildings were replaced with buildings with modern architecture. Until the 1950s, the buildings south of modern day Rua Patrice Lumumba was an arsenal used to protect the city especially from pirate raids. After Cape Verde became independent in 1975, it was one of the streets that changed its name, it was renamed to Amílcar Cabral.

A part of the main traffic carrying the south of the city with the north and the port was fully bypassed in the 1980s with Avenida Cidade da Lisboa in the west. In 2003, Avenida Combatentes da Liberdade da Patria opened and completely moved the main traffic flow to that avenue carrying with the south of the city and the north and the port along with the north of the island on that arterial. A pedestrian bridge next to Rua PMI was added in 2003.

Panoramics

At the southern terminus, it offers a view of the south of the city including Várzea and its stadium, Gamboa, Ilhéu de Santa Maria and Prainha-Temerosa. The northern portions offers a view of the mid-north of the city near Liceu Domingos Ramos including a part of the river

Transportation

Numerous transit lines passes through the avenue often or sometimes, they include:^[2]

Other

Another avenue also called Amílcar Cabral is in Assomada in the middle of the island running as part of the EN1-ST01.

References

Coordinates: 14°55′20″N 23°30′25″W / 14.9222°N 23.507°W / 14.9222; -23.507