A cement tile installation in a Casco Viejo restaurant features a lovely, elegant pattern of squares. Tile photo, Granada Tile.

One of the more elaborate cement tile installations Melanie and Marcos discovered while in Panama was in a small lobby. Tile photo, Granada Tile.

We spotted a simple yet very effective concrete tile design on a floor in the old section of Panama City. Tile photo, Granada Tile.

Admittedly not the greatest photo, but the cement tile design on the floor down this dimly lit corridor is too beautiful not to share. Tile photo, Granada Tile.

A simple cement tile installation and the country's eponymous hats at a tourist shop in the historic Casco Viejo section of Panama City. Tile photo, Granada Tile.

Although there are no tiles showing in this photo, we have included it to give you a taste of the contrasts in the Historic District of Panama City. About 80% of the Historic District is in dilapidated shape, but the other 20% shows what it did - and once more will - look like.

Located in the Historic Area of the City of Panama, this bar (currently called "Havana Club") has two types of mosaics: the kind with tiny ceramic squares that form the word Mosaic and the cement "mosaics" (or tiles) in greens, white and Burgundy.

We don't know if this lovely cement tile floor in the Old District of Panama City was restored or replaced. What is for certain is that they did a good job with the colors and designs that could well be from the beginnings of the last century.

This is a classic geometric quilt-like pattern in cement tile with a simple, elegant border in the Historic District of Panama City. Notice that the cement tiles are still in reasonably good shape compared to the door. These tiles are made to last - sometimes longer than their buildings.

These old, forlorn buildings in the Casco Histórico in Panamá City serve as a visceral reminder of the meaning of the word "Historical". Sometimes history is kind to buildings and neighborhoods and other times it condemns them to rack and ruin. In this case, though, the hopes are high that buildings like this one will rise and again and as they do, we hope they choose historically-inspired cement tiles.