"The bar inside,'' he said. "The one that was the private bar of the Bacardi family.'' My friend said he didn't know anybody who goes there. "In fact, most people don't even know it exists.'' Located just inside the terminus of Havana Vieja (old Havana) at Monserrate 261 Edificio Bacardi, the building is to Havana and the Havana skyline what the Chrysler building and the Empire State building are to New York. A marvel of Art Deco architecture, the building, I'm told, has been undergoing a very slow and laborious restoration. Entering the building through the main doors, you take a quick right and then a sharp left up a small flight of stairs. There's a reception desk where a person can direct you (providing someone is working). If not, you'll know you're in the right place when you see a small collection of photographs showing celebrities and members of what I presume are the Bacardi family on the wall. As you climb the stairs and enter the bar, time suddenly comes to a crashing and silent halt. Miguel the young bartender and Rebeca, his mother, preside over this old shrine to the Bacardi rum empire. http://www.cubanet.org/CNews/y00/dec00/04e13.htm By Jay Amberg Bloomberg Lifestyles. Bloomberg.com. Mon, 04 Dec 2000, 12:35pm EST in the year 1920 began the construction of this magnificent architectural jewel, representative of the Art Decó in fashion at that time. The building was designed by the architects Esteban Rodriguez Castells, Rafael Fernandez Ruenes and Jose Menendez. Its construction cost about 400,000 pesos and last 5 years. At that moment, the tip of its main tower was the highest point of Cuba. The famous bat, symbol of the family and logo of the drink brand crowns this tower. The granite used in this construction was imported from Bavaria and Norway. From the latest, the first honeys used in the preparation of the rum. The color of the ceramic flagstones covering the upper floors is bright yellow referring to white and gold rums exported by the famous firm. As a culmination of this building, the upper floors and the tower, both raised in a pyramidal way, are of the exquisite and bright design that combines blue and dun stripes with bright gold panels. The richness of its interior decoration is given mainly by the natural beauty of its marbles, brought from Europe and for the complementation with typical accessories of Art Deco like lamps, ironworks, drawings, etc. In the year 2001 the building was restored thanks to the cooperation with an Italian firm. It maintains in its interior the original decoration in a good shape, as well as, the external part of the building. Today, the building is the headquarter for representative agencies of tour operators among others. The visitor can access to its interior and enjoy the bar located at the mezzanine.