One of Cuba’s most unique national treasures are the many old-fashioned drug stores from the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century that decorate the landscapes of many cities. In Havana, many visiting Americans feel a special bond with the Johnson Drugstore on the corner of Obispo Street in the republican-era area of Old Havana because of its obvious connection to the brand Johnson & Johnson and because walking into the pharmacy is nothing like walking into our own CVS or Walgreens! Like most of Cuba’s now ancient and beautiful pharmacies, this one is still open for business and dispenses drugs to local residents assigned by the national healthcare system for its use. The Johnson who founded this pharmacy first arrived in Cuba in 1898 with Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, or so everyone says, and never left!
