It is located in one of the greenest areas of San Jose, in front of the Parque Morazan and next to the Parque Espańa, which creates an impressive contrast between nature and human creations.
In 1892, a building inspired in the Eiffel Tower was brought from abroad, with a pre-formed industrial design that was assembled piece by piece.
Today this magnificent piece of art couldn’t be possible because of its high cost, which was of 340.000 franks at the time. The architect Charles Thirion and the company Societé des Forges de Aiseau from Belgium were hired for this building.
An architectural particularity is that the columns that hold the aisles of the second floor are also water chutes.
The government of Costa Rica bought the building influenced by the iron revolution of the time. The structure was used for two elementary schools that will hold 800 students, one half with boys and the other with girls.
The front of the building is decorated with a statue of Minerva, goddess of wisdom. The Metallic Building is still nowadays a magnificent architectural piece, which brings back the memories of historical works made by Costa Rica.
In 1896, the building was finished, and since it was so majestic, the idea of turning it into the Presidential House definitely popped up. However, the original concept of it being an educational center was developed.
Some Belgian technicians studied the building and came to the conclusion that it will fall down when another building opened around the same time falls down as well: the Eiffel Tower of Paris.