The Droguería Johnson is located on the
Obispo street #251, where it
intersects with the Aguiar street.
Cuba had four important
pharmaceutical companies that deserve to pay tribute. They
are the Droguería Johnson, the
Taquechel and La Reunion in Havana, and the Farmacia De
Triolet in Matanzas.
The drugstore Droguería Johnson was
established by Dr. Manuel Serafín Johnson Larralde
(1860-1922) on the O’Reily street #31 in 1883. Dr. Manuel
Serafín Johnson Larralde was an outstanding pharmacist that
as a professor occupied an important place in the university
education, as well as in the investigations of the
pharmaceutical science in Cuba. While
he was studying at the university, he was also practicing in
the pharmacy of Francisco A. de Figueroa.
He established his own pharmacy on
the O’Reily street #31 in 1883; however, his Gran Farmacia
Johnson gained popularity after 1886. In 1914 he moved his
pharmacy to the current building at the corner of the Aguira
and the Obispo streets under the name of Droguería Johnson,
occupying the ground floor of the entire building up to the
O’Reily street. The building, an impressive feat of
architecture at the time, was designed by the renown
American company Purdy and Henderson in 1914. His firstborn
son Dr. Teodoro Agustín Johnson Anglada (1884-1961), also
Professor in Pharmacy in the University of Havana, had great
contribution in enlarging the capacity of the company after
1907. His second son Carlos Johnson Anglada (1887-?) studied
law and pharmacy, so that his dual training provided him the
opportunity to work as legal adviser of the drugstore
In colonial Havana
such pharmacies were called Botica and some of them became
very famous for their products that they sold, like the
syrups, ointments and floral medicines. They offered all
kinds of remedies requested by the population. The
Droguería Johnson, in addition
to these pharmaceutical products, was producing also
perfumes, insecticides, disinfectants and other
varieties of expertly-mixed chemicals
that they imported and exported. The father and son Johnsons
played an important role in the history of pharmacy in Cuba.
Together with the Taquechel and La Reunión pharmacies, the
Droguería Johnson formed
a comprehensive network in Havana, not only for commerce,
but also for education and research. After the
revolution the pharmacy was nationalized, and it continued
to serve as primary community pharmacy of the city through
until the end of the 20th century.
THE PHARMACY
The building was restored
in 2000 as part of the restoration project of the Old Havana.
However, a serious fire broke out in the building in 2006,
damaging all the historical and artistic heritage inside of
the pharmacy. The carpentry of the façade, the shelves and
the counters, the porcelain jars and crystal decorations, as
well as historic laboratory utensils were seriously affected
by the flames and by the water that the firefighters poured
into the pharmacy.
After a painstaking
restoration process the Droguería Johnson
reopened its doors in 2012.
The main entrance at the
corner of the completely renovated building is not in use,
so that the visitors can enter the pharmacy through the side
door on the Obispo street. In its interior the dark wood
shelves and counter, made of precious wood, are highly
impressive. The 15-meters counter runs the length of the
pharmacy. The shelves, from the floor to the ceiling,
contain hundreds of reproductions of the original porcelain
apothecary jars. The floor is covered with marble. The
mezzanine where also the replica of the jars and the bottles
are placed in shelves, can be accessed through a wooden
staircase. In the showcases on the counter a few original
jars, recovered from the disaster, the microscope, the
precision scales, some reproductions of the
bottles with names of medicines that were usually consumed
by the inhabitants of colonial Havana,
and the book with formulas are exhibited.
