
East tower undergoing repairs, view from West tower (February 2006)
The 'Parque Central Complex' towers consist of
twin 56-story towers. The buildings are located in
Caracas,
Venezuela. The towers are the tallest buildings of the country, with a height of 221 m (725 ft).
The east tower was completed in
1979 and the west tower in
1984. The towers take their name from the green refuge in the heart of Caracas' urban
jungle, but are still in the midst of a vast complex of office buildings and civilized amenities. The view from inside offers panoramic access to the city and the surrounding
mountains.
However, in
April 2003, both towers were surpassed in height by
Mexico City's
Torre Mayor, thus are no longer the tallest buildings in Latin America.
On
October 17,
2004, a
fire broke out in the east tower. At least ten floors were damaged in the incident. The fire started on the 34th floor and flames reached the 44th floor of the building. These floors housed key government offices. At the time an inquest was being held on the activities of these offices. It sustained critical
damage as efforts were hampered due to poor water pressure and lack of fire fighting equipment. Military helicopters tried pouring water from above to quench the flames. It was also feared that the steel structure could be damaged severely enough to collapse.
Currently (
as of May 2006), the east tower is still undergoing major repairs due to the damage caused by the fire.
External links
★
Emporis.com