On the southern side of the Plaza de la Cultura resides the Teatro Nacional, San José’s most revered public building. Constructed in 1897, it features a columned neoclassical facade that is flanked by statues of Beethoven and famous 17th-century Spanish dramatist Calderón de la Barca. The lavish marble lobby and auditorium are lined with paintings depicting various facets of 19th-century life. If you’re looking to rest your feet, there's also an excellent onsite cafe .
The theater's most famous painting is Alegoría al café y el banano, an idyllic canvas showing coffee and banana harvests. The painting was produced in Italy and shipped to Costa Rica for installation in the theater, and the image was reproduced on the old ₡5 note (now out of circulation). It seems clear that the painter never witnessed a banana harvest because of the way the man in the center is awkwardly grasping a bunch (actual banana workers hoist the stems onto their shoulders).
Across the street, also belonging to the national theater, is the Museo Homenaje Joaquín García Monge, which features temporary exhibitions by contemporary Costa Rican and Central American artists.
