Today, we took a walking tour around the capital of Costa Rica, San Jose. We visited many landmarks such as the National Museum (pictured above), the Central Market, and the Plaza de la Cultura. Especially in the old parts of San Jose like the Plaza de la Cultura, we can see the influence of the coffee trade. In order to build the National Theater in the plaza, the government imposed a tax on exported coffee. This was able to raise the funds necessary to build the grandiose theater, which took seven years to complete. Inside the National Theater, there is a painting depicting banana and coffee plantation workers alongside a port, commemorating those who helped the building of the theater. Since Costa Rica was exporting lots of coffee by 1891, by the time the theater constructions began, it was able to put more money into its communities and cultural centers, and the National Theater is just one example of this movement.

Believe it or not, San Jose actually has a connection with Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Andre Carnegie, known for his role in the expansion of the steel industry, donated money to build the headquarters of the Central American Court of Justice. This organization was formed in 1909 to resolve border disputes between Central American countries. Unfortunately, the building was destroyed by an earthquake, but Carnegie donated once again, with the condition that an American architect be in charge of the design. The building that would result from this effort is known as the “Casa Amarilla” due to its yellow exterior, and it now houses Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

One factor of San Jose that may be unfamiliar to tourists is the lack of addressing on buildings. To find a specific building, Costa Ricans rely on distances from landmarks and defining characteristics of the desired building. This means delivering mail or packages will be more difficult, especially for people shipping from outside of Costa Rica. When writing a mail address, it is necessary to give approximate distances from a local landmark. For people familiar with the area or already living in the area, this would not be a problem. For people outside of the country, finding distances from a landmark could be very difficult. What constitutes a memorable landmark? How do I approximate the distance on a map? What is the color or shape of the building I am shipping to? These are all questions that someone outside of the general vicinity of the shipping address may not have answers to, and even more problematic for those outside of Costa Rica. With today’s technology, finding tourist locations is not difficult. Even without a specific address, one search on a phone map will reveal the location of most tourist locations in San Jose. The map may not be able to give directions to that location, but the streets are straightforward and easy to follow to the desired location. The lack of addresses in San Jose affects finding tourist locations less, but makes shipping, especially for unfamiliar people, very difficult.

Overall, San Jose’s lack of addresses provides a multifaceted issue. On the one hand, people shipping from outside of the country may have trouble finding the information needed to address their package. This holds San Jose back as it increases the risk of mailing to wrong buildings and perhaps undeliverable packages, significantly decreases the efficiency of the system. On the other hand, this system most likely works perfectly well for locals. Since they are familiar with the area, locals will have no problem finding the information for addressing; they could find out first-hand. In a way, the lack of addressing likely contributes to more familiarity of the city. Ticos must learn the different landmarks and different streets in order to ship packages or give directions to other people, solidifying their own understanding of San Jose in the process. In this respect, the system works well for locals.