La Soledad: an open-air museum of 1930s houses and murals that tell stories
Did you know that just ten minutes from Plaza de Bolívar there is a neighborhood where time stopped in 1930? La Soledad doesn't appear in most travel guides, and that's precisely what makes it special. While visitors crowd into La Candelaria, locals know that here, in these quiet blocks, hides the Bogotá that resisted modernity. There are no skyscrapers or shopping malls here. There are art déco facades, murals that denounce violence, and a community that gathers in cafes smelling of freshly brewed tinto. This neighborhood, declared National Cultural Heritage, is a living testament to how a "garden city" from the thirties survived Bogotá's chaos. And if you are an architect, photographer, or simply a curious traveler, this route will change the way you see the city.
Let me tell you something few people know: most tourist maps ignore La Soledad because it doesn't have a "big attraction" like Monserrate or the Gold Museum. But that's a huge mistake. This neighborhood is an open-air architectural archive, with over 200 conservation properties. And since August 2026, a new mural on Calle 35 with Carrera 19 has been generating controversy between residents who want to preserve the original facades and artists who see walls as canvases. That tension between past and present is exactly what makes La Soledad fascinating.
The origin: when Bogotá wanted to be a European garden city
To understand La Soledad you have to travel back to 1936. President Alfonso López Pumarejo was promoting the "Revolution on the March," and Bogotá was seeking to modernize in a European style. It was then that the urban planner Karl Brunner, an Austrian hired by the government, designed this neighborhood as a social experiment: he wanted to create a space where the upper-middle class could live with gardens, fresh air, and tree-lined streets, away from the overcrowding of the historic center.
The name "La Soledad" doesn't come from sadness. It is said to honor the Virgin of Solitude, but local historians tell another version: in the forties, the families who arrived here were precisely seeking that, solitude, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the center. And they succeeded. The houses were built with wide front gardens, facades influenced by the European modern movement, and clay tile roofs that are now a rarity in Bogotá.
What many ignore is that Brunner also designed the neighborhood as a "social filter." The wider streets (like Calle 35) were for the cars of wealthy families, while the internal alleys (like Pasaje Las Acacias) served the domestic staff. That spatial hierarchy is still readable in the urban layout, and it's a detail that architects visiting the neighborhood never fail to note in their notebooks.
As of August 2026, the neighborhood retains 70% of its original buildings. That makes it one of the few places in Bogotá where you can walk for two hours and see the city's architectural evolution without leaving a single sector.
What to do: the walking route of the 5 houses you can't miss
Forget organized tours. The best way to get to know La Soledad is by walking unhurriedly, with your camera ready and your eyes wide open. This route I propose takes approximately two and a half hours and takes you past the five most representative houses in the neighborhood. Each one tells a different story of 1930s Bogotá.
1. House at Calle 35 # 17-25: pure art déco
This is probably the most photographed facade in the neighborhood. Built in 1938, it has those typical geometric art déco lines: elongated rectangular windows, a stepped cornice, and a carved wooden door that still retains its original hardware. Locals say a German doctor who fled World War II lived here. Today it's a private residence, but the facade can be admired from the sidewalk without any problem. The detail few notice: the ground floor grilles have a diamond pattern that repeats on the door, a nod to the Viennese style Brunner brought from Europe.
2. The Republican house at Carrera 19 # 34-12
If art déco is geometric, Republican architecture is ornate. This house, from 1935, is a perfect example: balconies with wrought iron railings, window moldings, and a zaguán leading to an inner courtyard with plants. It's the typical style of Bogotá's elite homes of the era. Today it houses a cultural foundation, and occasionally they open their doors for exhibitions. If you find it closed, don't worry: the facade is worth it on its own. Look at the detail of the columns flanking the entrance: they are Ionic, but with a local touch, as they weren't carved in marble but in painted cement.
3. Pasaje Las Acacias: the hidden gem
This pedestrian passage is perhaps the most photogenic spot in the neighborhood, and the least known. It's a narrow alley connecting Calle 34 with 35, lined with single-story houses with pastel-colored facades. It was designed as a "service space," but today it's an oasis of tranquility. The houses have clay tile roofs and wooden doors that open directly onto the passage. At the end of the alley, there's a small but significant mural: a portrait of social leader María Cano, painted by a local artist in 2021. It's easy to overlook, but it's one of the few tributes to women in the neighborhood's urban art.
4. The corner of Calle 34 with Carrera 17: eclecticism
This corner is a lesson in comparative architecture. On a single block, you can see a neocolonial house (with a tile roof and wooden balcony), an art déco one (with vertical lines), and a proto-modern one (with fixed-pane windows). It was built between 1937 and 1942 and reflects the stylistic transition Bogotá was experiencing at that time. The neocolonial house, in particular, has a curious detail: on the facade, there's a plaque that says "Year 1938," but locals swear construction finished in 1940. No one has been able to explain the discrepancy, and that only adds to the place's charm.
5. The House of Mirrors (Calle 36 # 18-30)
This is the informal name locals give to this 1936 house, and it's not because of literal mirrors. It's called that because its facade has a series of windows with glass that reflects light in such a way that, at sunset, the house seems to be made of water. It's an optical effect photographers know well, which is why many fashion shoots happen here. The house has a neocolonial style with Californian influence, unusual for Bogotá. Today it's a private residence, and the owners don't allow interior photos, but the facade is a spectacle. Go between 4 and 5 in the afternoon, when the sun hits the glass directly.
The murals: urban art with social memory
La Soledad is not a graffiti neighborhood in the traditional sense. Here, murals aren't tags or signatures: they are community works with strong social and political content. Since 2018, the Community Action Board has worked with local artists to intervene on deteriorated walls, turning the neighborhood into an open-air gallery. These are the three murals you can't miss, each with its own story and meaning.
Mural "Memoria de las Flores" (Calle 35 with Carrera 19)
This mural, painted in March 2025 by Bogotá artist Valentina Rojas, covers a wall about 15 meters long. It depicts a garden of Colombian wildflowers, but if you look closely, among the petals are human faces. It's a tribute to social leaders murdered in the country since 2016. The artist worked with the victims' families to paint the portraits, and each flower bears a person's name. The mural was controversial because some residents wanted a more "neutral" work, but today it's the most photographed in the neighborhood. The best time to see it is in the morning, when the sun illuminates the colors without glare.
Mural "La Esperanza en el Barrio" (Carrera 18 with Calle 34)
This mural is different: it's not political, but communal. It was painted in 2023 by a collective of neighborhood youth, led by local artist Andrés "Pato" Rodríguez. The work shows a giant tree with roots that turn into intertwined hands. On the trunk, there are words in Spanish and English: "unidad", "memoria", "futuro". The idea came from a workshop with children from the neighboring school, and each leaf on the tree was painted by a different child. It's a mural that invites interaction: many visitors leave messages in a small mailbox at the base of the wall, and locals read them every month.
Mural "Mujeres de Agua" (Pasaje Las Acacias)
This is the smallest of the three murals, but it has the deepest story. Painted in 2021 by Cartagena artist Lorena Guerrero, it depicts three Afro-Colombian women with turbans emerging from a wave of blue water. It's a tribute to the women who worked as laundresses in the Bogotá River at the beginning of the 20th century, many of whom lived in this neighborhood. The mural was almost erased in 2022 when a new homeowner wanted to paint the facade. The community organized, collected signatures, and managed to have the mural declared "community heritage." Today it's a symbol of the neighborhood's resistance.
Where to eat and drink: the cafes where locals actually go
Forget the coffee chains. In La Soledad, the most traditional places are small
