Manuel Cámara y Cruz (1848-1921), born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, attended high school at the Instituto Provincial de Canarias in La Laguna. He then pursued Architecture at the Escuela Superior de Madrid, becoming the first Canarian to graduate in this field.
Upon his appointment as Municipal Architect of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1872, one of his initial projects was the extension of Calle del Castillo from Suarez Guerra to Plaza de Weyler. Five years later, he presented the Expansion Plan for the city, with Gran Vía (now Avenida 25 de Julio) as the central axis, running from South to North. In his role as a civil architect, he designed various notable buildings such as the Masonic Temple of the Añaza Lodge on 35 San Lucas Street, the Villasegura Palace for the Imeldo Serís Teaching Institution on Avenida 25 de Julio, the Children’s Hospital on Carmen Monteverde Street, the Navy Command at the entrance to the South pier, and the Port Pilots Building on the North Pier, among others.
As the Founder and President of the Society of Urban Buildings and Reforms, Manuel de Cámara y Cruz was responsible for designing the first two structures in the Hotel District: the Fides School and the Convent of the Siervas de María, located at the intersection of Viera Street, Clavijo, and General Antequera Street. He also designed private residences like Casa Corbella on Imeldo Serís Street, Casa Viuda de Cámara on Doctor Allart Street, Casa Ascanio on the corner of San Francisco Street and Betencourt Alfonso Street, and Casa del Barco at the junction of Calle Castillo and Jesús Nazareno, amongst others.
Appointed as the Architect of the Nivariense Diocese in 1887, he created the Residence of the Claretian Fathers at 43 San Lucas Street.
Manuel de Cámara y Cruz was actively involved in various other fields, serving as a Republican councilor of the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council in 1887, 1895, and 1899, and as the acting Mayor in 1902 and 1903. He also founded and led the republican newspaper El Ideal and collaborated with his friend Patricio Estévanez on the Diario de Tenerife.
He held presidencies in several organisations, including the Instructional Cabinet, the Economic Society of Friends of the Country of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the Provincial Council, the Propaganda and Development Center, and the Port Works Board from 1908 virtually till his death in 1921.
A respected member of the Royal Canarian Academy of Fine Arts, he was appointed as the 1st councilor by Royal Order in 1918.
