In under a year, The Orotava has lost two of the five corner guards preserved within its historic centre, distinctive heritage features crafted from tea wood that have safeguarded some of the oldest structures in the town for over 200 years. Very few municipalities on the island of Tenerife possess these intriguing corners, remnants of a past that carry significant ethnographic and architectural value.
The corner guards, or corner protectors, are wooden structures installed at the intersections of certain ancestral homes to shield them from the wear caused by vehicles. Fernando Gabriel Martín, a professor of Art History at the University of La Laguna, notes in his work “Canarian Domestic Architecture” that they were “elements already utilised in Castile during the Renaissance in cities such as Valladolid. They can also be seen in Cuba, where unlike the Canaries, they are often adorned with floral motifs. On the Islands, they are typically made of wood, firmly secured within the wall and can reach heights of approximately two metres. The most basic forms consist of wood fastened to the wall, almost left unrefined. Others feature more intricately crafted boards. In some instances, a notable aesthetic quality is visible where they are fashioned to resemble balusters, topped with a ball. Nonetheless, it was, in any case, not a very common feature,” concludes Professor Fernando Gabriel Martín’s assessment.
In Orotava, there were recently five corner guards remaining. One of them, situated at number 18 Tomás Zerolo Street, at the junction with Ascanio Alley, was demolished by vandals last June during the evening of the magician’s event. Fortunately, the proprietors of the building retrieved the damaged corner guard, measuring roughly one metre in length, and intend to reinstall it after restoration. It is a well-crafted and ornately decorated piece of timber. Five months after this act of vandalism, not only has the piece yet to be replaced, but days ago another corner guard was likewise lost. Specifically, the one positioned at the corner of León and San Agustín streets, associated with the former Tafuriaste Museum. A vehicle travelling down León Street skidded on the rain-laden cobblestones and, upon turning the corner, mounted the pavement and removed the wooden shielding. The corner guard was destroyed but served its purpose: it buffered the vehicle’s impact, leaving the property’s walls intact.
The Historical Heritage department of the La Orotava City Council has reached out to the owners of both affected properties to request the replacement of the two corner guards, as these are unique components of buildings within the protected zone of the historic heart of the town. They are not merely ornamental features.
La Orotava historian Sebastián Hernández Gutiérrez, who previously taught Art History at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, discusses the corner guards in several of his numerous writings concerning La Orotava’s heritage. “In the 18th and 19th centuries, the owners of many buildings in this town, particularly those sited on corner plots where two streets converged, opted to install wooden strips to safeguard their homes’ corners from the damage caused by the axles and wheels of vehicles which frequently knocked against these corners while turning,” explains Hernández.
This situation was common due to the steep nature of many of the town’s streets, which often resulted in the wheels of heavily laden carts skidding. Streets such as Tomás Zerolo or Agua were once thoroughfares for carts transporting wine barrels to the dock at La Orotava, now known as Puerto de la Cruz.
At present, the historic ensemble of La Orotava retains five of these corner guards, “elements of cultural significance once employed as public adornments,” as described by Professor Sebastián Hernández. Their design is consistent: a wooden piece measuring between one and two metres resembling a small column, integrated into the wall and capped with a ball.
One is located at the intersection of Doctor Domingo González and Salazar streets, affixed to number 1 of the former, directly opposite the Chano mill. It can be seen on a building of considerable historical significance, a prime example of Canarian domestic architecture, the González García house, erected in the late 18th century, which was the residence of Doctor Domingo González in the 20th century.
Nearby, another corner guard can be found, in the direction of Cruz del Teide, at number 31 on Salazar Street, at its corner with Claudio Street. This one is considerably smaller and plainer. Among the most elegant and elaborately designed was the one that used to stand at number 3 León Street, at the junction with San Agustín. It was positioned to protect the corner of a large 19th-century structure influenced by classicism, which formerly housed the Tafuriaste Museum.
Proceeding down Tomás Zerolo Street, at number 18, a mansion from the 18th century housed the previously mentioned corner guard that fell victim to vandalism during the patron saint festivities. It is smaller in size and thickness compared to the others, yet it is finely decorated and stylishly crafted.
Lastly, at the end of Agua Street, at the junction with Viera Street, within the historic Casa de Mesa (dating back to the 16th century), the fifth corner guard remains preserved. This one is notably larger but exhibits a more rugged and simplistic design, lacking a ball at the top, likely indicating that it is the oldest among them all. In this piece, as well as those on Doctor Domingo González and León streets, large nails are visible, securing them firmly to the wall.
