Mysteriously, there is very little information available online about the Palacio del Gobernacion de Caldas. The architecture is complex, intriguing, and absolutely breathtaking, especially on the inside, in the second floor.

Come inside the Gobernacion of Caldas where we introduce you to one of the most beautiful old buildings in the Eje > Cafetero (or Coffee Axis), of Colombia!

The Missing Facts of History

According to Wikipedia, the building was designed by an American architect John Vawter, of Ulen & Company. Strangely enough my internet searches failed to present information about John Vawter, or Ulen & Company. A historical reference popped up regarding a John Vawter who had built a house in Los Angeles in 1911, but that is as close as I could come.

Upon further research in the Banco de la Republica virtual library, my query began to yield results. Except the information on Wikipedia is almost completely wrong. According to This Page, on the Banco de la Republica website, was designed by John Wotard, and built by Ulen & Co between 1925 and 1927.

Yet, on another page in the same virtual library, I once again found the reference to John Vawler. Which is it? Very strange indeed.

The architectural style is Republican and considered an exceptional specimen of this architecture in Manizales, Colombia.

Once again, I went into the World Wide Disaster, erm Web - and searched both John Wotard, and John Vawler with the year 1925 - and still no results which are even slightly similar. Did these people or the Ulen & Company construction company even exist?

Three out of four search results on Banco de La Republica website indicate that the consensus is that John Valwer built it between 1925 and 1927, but no photos of construction or the men who built it. Once I am back in Manizales again, I fully intend to look for more information.

There is a point to my frantic searching and musings about the complete lack of information regarding this building - online at least.

My mom follows a YouTube channel whose focus is a phenomenon called "Antiquetech" on a channel called Martin Liedtke. The whole premise is that many buildings today which have extraordinarily unique and beautiful architectural features, were actually built decades or centures prior to when the official historical narrative claims they were built.

Guillermo Gomez, called "Guigo" by fans, is a local violinist of tremendous renown. After this picture was taken, he played a solo performance from a second floor window of Gobernacion de Caldas, as part of a candlelight vigil to pray for peace and move forward from the violence and disagreement by the Paro Nacional which has now been ongoing for almost a complete calendar month in May of 2021.

Could the Palacio del Gobernacion de Caldas possibly be one of these buildings which were claimed by settlers and then utilized by the government entities? Does John Vawler in fact exist? And if so, why are internet searches so fruitless?

Of course, my searching up til now, has been confined to whatever is available online. In the near future, I would like to go to a library and see if I can find a more extensive history or even old photos of the area. It would be interesting to shed some light on the mysterious origins of this gorgeous building.

1. [Wikipedia (Spanish)] (https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palacio_de_la_Gobernaci%C3%B3n_de_Caldas)
2. [Banco de la Republica Virtual Library] (https://babel.banrepcultural.org/digital/collection/p17054coll17/id/216)