Arco Chato

An unexpectedly crucial landmark in Panamanian history is almost hidden from sight, high above the ground inside the walls of the old Santo Domingo monastery. By its appearance, it is nothing more than a brick archway. The archway is structurally very weak, having no keystone and very little curve, but it survived when the original church was destroyed by fire in the 1700s and continued doing nothing at all for several centuries. When the engineers planning the Panama Canal were deciding between potential sites in Panama and Nicaragua, they took the perserverance of this figment of architecture as proof that Panama was not affected by earthquakes. It's not hard to guess the resulting decision! The story of the Arco itself took a surprise turn in 2003, when the archway suddenly collapsed one night. Due to its historical importance, it was quickly rebuilt—but the debate over the cause of the collapse continues: some say it collapsed because of sustained vibrations caused by all the years of traffic through Casco Viejo, others claim it collapsed due to a party held nearby that night, featuring a good sound system and electronic music.