The San Francisco Convent, one of the oldest churches of Havana, was completed by Order of the Franciscans in 1591. A part of the hard coral shore that formed the western edge of the bay, a few blocks south of the Plaza de Armas, formed a solid foundation for the original building which, owing to faulty material and construction, lapsed into ruins in 1719. In 1738 the structure which now occupies the spot was built under the direction of Bishop Juan Lazo. The tower of the Church proper is considered one of the best samples of ecclesiastic architecture in Havana. This building fronts on Oficios Street and extends from the Plaza of San Francisco south for more than a block, parallel with the Bay front. The old San Francisco convent is the most massive structure of its kind in Havana. Its long lofty arched passages were well built and give promise of remaining intact through centuries yet to come. The large patio in the center is today filled with flowers and admits light to the many offices, once occupied by the palefaced, sad-eyed inmates of the convent, now resounding with the click of typewriters and the tread of feet bent on the ordinary affairs of life. In 1856 this building became the depository, or general archive, of the Spanish administration of affairs in the Island. The first American Government of Intervention used it as a Custom House, where Major General Bliss had his headquarters. Shortly after the inauguration of the Republic of Cuba this property together with that of the square now used by the Institute, was purchased from the Church and continued to be used as the custom house. In 1916 the old convent, thoroughly renovated, became the permanent headquarters for the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, for which it is well adapted. The custom house was transferred to the San Francisco Wharf, a handsome structure that also shelters the administration of Trisconia. From 1608 the San Francisco Church was used as the starting point of the religious processions which annually passed the “Via de Cruces” or Way of the Cross, along Amargua Street terminating at the Church of El Cristo at the corner of Aguacate Street, which was built in 1640. The San Agustin Convent was built by the order of San Agustin on Amergura Street at the corner of Aguiar Street. A tablet on the church itself states that it was completed in the year 1659. There is nothing of special interest connected with this church other than its antiquity and its general air of isolated depression.