Malecon 2000

According to Wikipedia, the site began as a narrow roadway in the colonial period and became a centre of social life in the young city during the nineteenth century. By the mid to late 1980s parts of the older Simón Bolívar boardwalk had deteriorated, and some sections had collapsed into the river. The renewal project began under Mayor León Febres-Cordero and was completed during the second term of his successor, Jaime Nebot Saadi. The first stage opened to the public in October 1999, which explains the name Malecón 2000. It is administered by the Malecón 2000 Foundation, a private non-profit organisation.

The northern sector has plazas, fountains, an antique Ecuadorian train, play areas, a planetarium, an anthropological museum, a contemporary art museum and an IMAX theatre that Wikipedia describes as the first in South America. The central sector contains the Civic Plaza, the Moorish Clock Tower and the Rotonda monument, as well as yacht clubs. The southern sector has a modern shopping centre.

The Moorish Clock Tower was built around 1930 to 1931, and it holds a public clock that arrived in Guayaquil from England in 1842, reportedly bought by the merchant Manuel Antonio Lizárraga. La Rotonda commemorates the 1822 meeting of the liberators José de San Martín of Argentina and Simón Bolívar of Venezuela, and stands at the end of 9 de Octubre Avenue. A bust honours José Joaquín de Olmedo, the poet who was Guayaquil's first mayor, and another monument honours the president Carlos Alberto Arroyo del Río. The Malecón Gardens cover about 22,000 square metres and display plants native to Ecuador, with an artificial stream and a pond.

The promenade is flat and walkable, with river breezes and views across the Guayas. It works well as an introduction to Guayaquil, since it connects with the Las Peñas neighbourhood and the city's historic landmarks. Evenings are popular with local families. A private guide can explain the monuments and the story of the regeneration, and a driver can link the Malecón with nearby sights.

Wikipedia describes Guayaquil as Ecuador's economic centre and main port, with about 2.65 million residents in the city proper. The founding date is uncertain, with sources giving 1535 or 1538 and noting a re-founding in 1547 after relocations and fires. Independence was declared on 9 October 1820, and in July 1822 José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar met in the city, an event the Rotonda commemorates. Pirates attacked in 1687, and a major fire in 1896 destroyed large parts of the city. The regeneration that produced the Malecón is part of a wider campaign to revitalise the waterfront and attract visitors.