Old Havana was never emptied to become a museum: when the modern restoration model began in 1993, about 67,000 people lived in its 214 hectares, according to the Office of the Historian's own best-practice report. What you are walking through is a residential neighbourhood, restored building by building, for years with money earned largely from tourism.
Who restored Old Havana?
The Office of the Historian of the City of Havana, known in Spanish as the Oficina del Historiador, is older than the revolution. UNESCO describes it as an autonomous city organisation established in 1938, supported since 1981 by a five-year restoration plan. Eusebio Leal led its restoration work for more than 40 years until his death on 31 July 2020, aged 77, El Español reported.
When UNESCO inscribed "Old Havana and its Fortification System" in 1982, restoration was already under way. The ICOMOS evaluation behind the listing praised the restoration of the buildings bordering Cathedral Square and noted a government plan to turn former residences used as warehouses back into homes, with shops and cultural services.
The listing covers 238.7 hectares plus a 412.4-hectare buffer zone, and it includes the harbour fortresses as well as the old town inside the former city walls.
How was the restoration paid for?
Money, not expertise, was the constraint by the early 1990s. A 1993 UNESCO state-of-conservation report described "a very well developed institutional structure" whose work was "seriously hindered" by conditions in Cuba, after a storm in March 1993 damaged the site. The monitoring mission asked for World Heritage assistance for housing, and US$55,000 was approved for buildings meant for housing.
The answer came in Decreto-Ley 143 of 30 October 1993, signed by Fidel Castro. It gave the Office unusual commercial and planning powers:
- It was attached to the Council of State.
- It governed a Priority Zone for Conservation covering the World Heritage area and the district built beyond the walls, out to the Paseo del Prado.
- It could import, export, buy, sell and carry out other commercial operations, and receive donations.
- Entities operating in the zone had to contribute "un porciento de sus ingresos", a percentage of their income, to its restoration.
The Office then built its own businesses. According to its best-practice report, updated in 2008, Habaguanex ran the historic centre's commercial side, and hotel companies, real estate, international cooperation, donations and loans from the Banco Nacional de Cuba financed the work. The report counts more than 454 buildings restored between 1993 and 2006, 11,000 jobs in the Office's enterprises and US$216.8 million generated by 2004.
What changed after 2020?
The business side left the Office's hands before Leal died. El Español reported in 2020 that the business network of hotels, shops, museums, real estate firms and restaurants was absorbed "after Leal fell ill" by a business conglomerate controlled by the Armed Forces. The report gave no date, and we could not read an official Cuban document setting out when or how the transfer happened.
US government documents show where things stood by 2025. The State Department's Cuba Restricted List, published on 6 February 2025, names "Compañía Turística Habaguanex S.A." among its holding companies. Under 31 CFR 515.209, that list covers entities the State Department identifies as controlled by, or acting for, Cuba's military, intelligence or security services. The same list names Old Havana shops such as Casa del Abanico and Soldadito de Plomo, and hotels such as Ambos Mundos and Conde de Villanueva.
The Office itself also changed status. The 1993 decree attached it to the Council of State, while Cuba's 2023 periodic report to UNESCO describes it as a special entity with national subordination to the Council of Ministers. We could not open the Office's own websites or the Cuban legal text that made that change.
How is Old Havana funded now?
The 2023 periodic report gives the clearest recent picture, and it looks different from the self-financing story of the 1990s. Project costs were 64% government-funded, 13% bilateral international, 5% international donations, 1% multilateral and 17% other, while running costs were 100% government. The report still describes a mechanism in which businesses contribute a percentage of profits to restoration, plus a levy for using public space.
The report is also frank about the result so far. It states that 40% of the built-up space is in bad condition, mentions partial building collapses, and records dozens of families living inside the Hornabeque de San Diego, one of the fortification elements. Planning now runs through a special comprehensive development plan to 2030, known as PEDI-2030.
What this means when you walk and spend in Old Havana
The plazas and the residential streets between them sit in one conservation zone, and UNESCO's 40% figure means a restored facade and a building in bad condition can be neighbours. People live in both, so photograph facades and courtyards with the same care you would give any private home.
Who receives your money depends on where you spend it. Hotels and shops on the Restricted List are, in the US government's classification, tied to Cuba's military; privately run restaurants are a separate sector, explained in our guide to how paladares work in Havana.