The Republic

Some historians said that, at the end of 1830, José Ignacio Paris gave the property to Mrs. Matilde Baños, with the purpose of "helping the public education". However, Paris continued apparently, with the control of the house and he showed interest in maintaining it, for that reason he ordered to elaborate in Italy, in 1846, two sources of white marble that were settled in the principal patio.

It is also known that the marble statue, work of Pedro Tenerani, the first that was made to the Liberator, was brought by his faithful friend, Mr. Paris, to adorn the patio of "La Quinta", but, when it arrived to Bogotá, they said it was a completed masterpiece, Mr. Paris solved give it to the Congress, which decided placed it in the principal square of Bogotá, where it is and it should be forever.

cornelio hispano, 3.4.1919

Since then the Main Square of Bogotá is known as Bolívar's Square.

With the passage of time the house was adapted for several functions. Thus, by the middle of the XIX century it welcomed the members of the Phylotemic Society, association directed by the Conservative Party and constituted to combat those "democratic councils", organized during the presidency of the general José Hilario López (1798-1869).

Then, between July, 1853 and April, 1854, it was settled there Santa Ana's School, for young ladies, directed by the governess Ana Parini de Lasalle, but the coup d'état made by José María Melo forced to close it. In fact the general Tomás Herrera was aided there, and he died on December 5th, 1854.

In "La Quinta" happened many facts like the death of the Dr. José Félix Merizalde who died there by the middle of March, 1868. As it is known, the doctor Merizalde played a brilliant scientific and humanitarian role in the age of the Gran Colombia and he was one of the doctors that assisted the general Francisco de Paula Santander in his last illness.

Andrés Pardo Tovar, 1973

Dead Mr. Paris, "La Quinta" passed to its true owner, his daughter, Mrs. Manuela Paris de Tanco, who maintained the property up to November 5th, 1870 when she sold it to the wealthy Diego Uribe who made many repairs until November 26th, 1878, date in which her inheritors sold the house to Manuel Plata Azuero.

Two years later, on March 8th, 1880, Azuero gave the property to Nicolás Vergara and Vladislao Posada. On November 9th, 1880, Posada sold part of its rights to Jasón Gaviria and, on September 29th, 1891, he gave the house to Juan N. Rodríguez, and it became a Health House (euphemism from Bogotá people that means "bedlam").

On October 21st, 1898 the property changed its owners: Carlos and Teófilo Moncada acquired it and there a beer factory called Pita o Cabuya, because of its container shape, was settled. The house suffered manymodifications that meant the partial destruction of its original architecture. On May 3rd, 1906 Carlos Moncada rented the south side to Mr. Penem who organized another company, this time of tannery.

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