One of the stories i heard during my evangelical upbringing in Bolivia is that of the first Baptist Church. Actually, when it was built in the 1800's, the government (of course under some pressure of the powerful RC curia) wanted it to be very far away from the city Centre, so they built the Church in what later was going to be known as "Paseo del Prado". The point in the story was that even if they did not want it, the city grew to surround the Baptist Church.
Unfortunately, in the 1990's due to the high buildings next to the Church undermining the foundations of the Church building, and thence due to important technical reasons, the Church building had to be demolished. So, today, if you visit the place, you don't see it. Nevertheless, the influence and number of evangelical Christians is growing in Bolivia. Unfortunately, however, due primarily to the miselading teachings on the rapture, most devoted Christians are not taking a voice and a stand in the difficult period the country is undergoing.
Looking at both pictures, i also realise that there are other beautiful houses that aren't there anymore. That's modernisation of a city centre I guess.
Labels: Bolivia, La Paz, Old Pictures