Inaugurated in 1921 to celebrate the Independence centenary, Plaza San Martín was endowed with a huge equestrian statue of José de San Martín, the Argentinean liberator of Peru. Characteristic of the 1920s and 30s, impressive arcaded edifices mingling French and Spanish influences grace the square. On Unión Street, the Gran Hotel Bolívar is the oldest square of the capital. In another district, the graceful façade of the Teatro Colón, first cinema of the city, is emblematic of the cultivated middle classes of Lima in the 1920s.