The coastal clifftop path in Miraflores, Lima, is dotted with popular parks providing spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean. Take a stroll along this section of the scenic footpath, known as El Malecón, and you'll come across kissing couples in the Parque del Amor and paragliders in Parque Raimondi.
Walk a little further south along the coast and you’ll arrive at Parque Salazar, better known as the home of Larcomar, Lima’s modern seafront shopping, dining and entertainment complex.
You’ll also see the towering presence of the JW Marriott Hotel Lima, located across the road from the park.
The construction of Larcomar, which sits like a giant balcony overlooking the ocean, began in the 1990s and radically altered the face of Parque Salazar. Judging by photos taken before work began on the modern shopping complex, Parque Salazar was once a pretty seafront spot, not unlike today’s Parque del Amor. Despite protests from local residents and notable limeño artists and intellectuals (including Mario Vargas Llosa), the Larcomar project went ahead, ultimately taking a huge bite out of the old Parque Salazar.
Today’s Parque Salazar is flat, perfectly manicured and altogether modern. It’s a good spot for a quick break, but it doesn’t have the same charm or character as other parks along El Malecón. To a certain extent, it feels like an approach to Larcomar rather than a destination in its own right.
But there are some notable features in the park. The most important sculpture dates back to the park’s inauguration in 1953.
Created by Hungarian artists Lajos D'Ebneth (who came to Peru in 1949), the monument features the stylized head of a condor, built of a pink travertine marble that can withstand the sun and sea air, sat upon a base of natural rocks.
The sculpture was built in honor of the pilot Alfredo Salazar Southwell, after whom the park itself is named. During an air display over Lima in 1937, Salazar’s plane suffered severe mechanical problems. Rather than bail out over the city, risking the lives of civilians below, Salazar took his plane out to the ocean where both he and his aircraft crashed in flames. He was only 24 when he died.
A second sculpture by Lajos D'Ebneth stands at the southern end of the park. Called Hacia la Gloria (Towards Glory), it shows the figure of a naked man with his head and hands raised up to the sky.
More immediately evident are the three cylindrical towers of metal and blue glass that rise up from the park, their tops cut off diagonally in a cross-section. While these look like purely aesthetic modern sculptures, they actually serve a practical purpose.
These towers are in fact ventilation ducts rising up from the Larcomar complex below, making them quite possibly the prettiest chimneys in the city.
Walk a little further south along the coast and you’ll arrive at Parque Salazar, better known as the home of Larcomar, Lima’s modern seafront shopping, dining and entertainment complex.
You’ll also see the towering presence of the JW Marriott Hotel Lima, located across the road from the park.
The construction of Larcomar, which sits like a giant balcony overlooking the ocean, began in the 1990s and radically altered the face of Parque Salazar. Judging by photos taken before work began on the modern shopping complex, Parque Salazar was once a pretty seafront spot, not unlike today’s Parque del Amor. Despite protests from local residents and notable limeño artists and intellectuals (including Mario Vargas Llosa), the Larcomar project went ahead, ultimately taking a huge bite out of the old Parque Salazar.
Today’s Parque Salazar is flat, perfectly manicured and altogether modern. It’s a good spot for a quick break, but it doesn’t have the same charm or character as other parks along El Malecón. To a certain extent, it feels like an approach to Larcomar rather than a destination in its own right.
But there are some notable features in the park. The most important sculpture dates back to the park’s inauguration in 1953.
Created by Hungarian artists Lajos D'Ebneth (who came to Peru in 1949), the monument features the stylized head of a condor, built of a pink travertine marble that can withstand the sun and sea air, sat upon a base of natural rocks.
The sculpture was built in honor of the pilot Alfredo Salazar Southwell, after whom the park itself is named. During an air display over Lima in 1937, Salazar’s plane suffered severe mechanical problems. Rather than bail out over the city, risking the lives of civilians below, Salazar took his plane out to the ocean where both he and his aircraft crashed in flames. He was only 24 when he died.
A second sculpture by Lajos D'Ebneth stands at the southern end of the park. Called Hacia la Gloria (Towards Glory), it shows the figure of a naked man with his head and hands raised up to the sky.
More immediately evident are the three cylindrical towers of metal and blue glass that rise up from the park, their tops cut off diagonally in a cross-section. While these look like purely aesthetic modern sculptures, they actually serve a practical purpose.
These towers are in fact ventilation ducts rising up from the Larcomar complex below, making them quite possibly the prettiest chimneys in the city.
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