Puerto Rico - Landmarks and Points of Interest
- By Smithsonian.com
- Smithsonian.com, November 06, 2007, Subscribe
San Juan is Puerto Rico's capital city and commercial center, divided into several districts, and seems in many ways to straddle the old and the new.
The site of dozens of hotels, resorts and the convention center, connected by snaking highways and often snarled by traffic, it's also home to many historic military forts and ramparts. The most famous of these is the Fort de San Felipe del Morro ("El Morro”). El Morro is a National Historic Site and the largest fortification in the Caribbean. From its perch above San Juan Bay, it provided a useful defense against attacks by both the English and the Dutch. El Morro's sister fort, San Cristóbal, is the largest Spanish fort in the New World and protected the city against land-based attacks. It sits on 27 acres and is comprised of five independent units connected by moats and tunnels. San Cristóbal is a UNESCO World Heritage and National Historic Site. La Fortaleza, also known as the Palacio de Santa Catalina, was intended to serve as a military fortress when it was finished in 1540, but was soon converted into the Governor's residence. It continues in that role today.
The gothic Iglesia de San José was built in the 1530s by Dominican Friars and contains the grave of celebrated Puerto Rican artist José Campeche.
Old San Juan is the city's historical heart. Founded in 1521 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon, Old San Juan is a tiny maze of blue cobblestone streets, colonial architecture and historic fortresses and plazas. Its main meeting place is the central square, the Plaza de Armas, which once served as the site of military drills.
Puerto Rico's southern, meticulously preserved, second-largest city is sometimes called "La Perla del Sur" (Pearl of the South) or "Ciudad Senorial" (Majestic City) because of its lavish, neoclassical architecture. The downtown historic district features the tree-lined Plaza de las Delicias (comprised of fountains, gardens, and the 1835 Catedral de Nostra Señora de Guadelupe) and the red-and-black striped Ponce Firehouse (constructed in 1882 and now a museum of the history of local fire-fighting). Casa Alcaldía, or City Hall, is the oldest colonial building in the city. La Guancha Paseo Tablado, the boardwalk, is a lively beachfront development popular with the locals. From here, divers can take a short ferry ride to the uninhabited and pristine Caja de Muertos (Coffin Island), from where they can travel Puerto Rico's only underwater marked path system.
About 15 minutes north of town is the Tibes Indian Ceremonial Center, an ancient burial ground that was discovered in 1975 after hurricane rains revealed pottery shards. Now a tourist attraction, access to the area is by guided tour only, and includes a visit a reconstructed Taîno Indian village as well as the active archaeological site.
In the mountains north of Ponce, the Hacienda Buena Vista is a "working" coffee plantation that offers tourists a glimpse of 19th-century rural Puerto Rican life. Also outside Ponce, the Seralles Castle, a well-preserved example of Spanish Revival architecture, was built in 1930 for the family who produced Don Q rum.
San Germàn is Puerto Rico's picturesque second-oldest town, set in the west and features two plazas (Plazuela Santo Domingo and Plaza Francisco Mariano Quinones) and a mélange of Victorian, Creole, and Spanish colonial architecture. The Capilla de Porta Coeli, built by Friars in 1606 and one of the oldest churches in the New World, is now a small museum of religious art and colonial paintings. The Iglesia San Germàn de Auxerre opened in 1739 and still holds mass today.
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Comments (21)
I found alot of information about Puerto Rico! Thanks!
Posted by tomoka on March 13,2013 | 01:57 PM
I went to look this up and I just wanted the names of the major landmarks of puerto Rico and I ended up with all this reading... I am twelve years old and I am doing a project on puerto Rico and I wanted to do extra credit but I couldnt find strait out answers so I guess I'm not doing extra credit!!! :)
Posted by Alexis on February 6,2013 | 08:35 PM
thank you for this i need it for a school project.
Posted by on January 17,2013 | 10:43 AM
these landmarks are very inportant !
Posted by Tynicka Baller on January 9,2013 | 09:37 AM
Thanks it really helped me on my project :]
Posted by Angelic on May 22,2012 | 12:06 PM
lame!!!!!
Posted by Madison on May 4,2012 | 08:40 PM
wazzup that is some good info =]
Posted by epicman1237 on April 14,2012 | 08:56 PM
I cannot wait to go and see the bio bay!! I'm so excited to swim at night and see the neon colors in action on my honey moon!!! :)
Posted by Lizzy Lynn on March 28,2012 | 12:34 PM
THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION I'LL MAKE SURE THAT I CHECK IN AS I AM IN PUERTO RICO.
ERIC IN BUENA VISTA, CO
Posted by ERIC on February 24,2011 | 10:52 AM
thanx you realy helped me on an assinment but the Spaniard names are really hard to pronounce and i take spanish
Posted by cramer brown on November 8,2010 | 08:11 PM
thanks this really helped out with my project
Posted by fhajkfdf on October 17,2010 | 03:13 PM
I really want to go to Puerto Rico!! :)<3
Posted by V on September 23,2010 | 10:40 PM
Wanted to take my parents on an excursion of the island but not sure where the nicest points of interest are. We are new here. Been to San Juan something not to expensive and maybe about 1/2 a day adventure for now. Maybe more later.
Posted by Rae on September 17,2010 | 12:01 AM
Diane,
It is a fictional street name, referencing an Irish poem. But, there is a bar with a slight connection to Hunter S. Thompson, if you're looking for that there is a bar called El Batey
One night in the 1950's somewhere between Condado and Isla Verde, the now owner of El Batey saw a man running from the police along the beach, with a big bottle of liquor in his hands. He pulled up along him in his car and said, "Get in, quick. Quick!" So the man jumped in, and they drove off, away from the police. It was Hunter S. Thompson, and so they drank the bottle and became good friends.
I don't know, or think that El Batey was around in the late 50's, but, I suppose, at least there's a degree of connection there.
Two other restaurant/bars of interest in Old San Juan are El Convento (right across the street from El Batey) and Carli's Café. Carli's is owned by former touring Beach Boy, Carli Muñoz. He plays jazz piano nightly, and the food is fantastic. The staff there are also the best in the old town. The bartender, Fausto should be reason enough to go visit.
http://www.loveandrum.com
Posted by Edward H on August 20,2010 | 12:24 AM
Help..what happened to Calle O'Leary in San Juan Puerto Rico??? Has it been renamed? It is the street Hunter Thompson writes about in the Rum Diary!
Posted by diane on May 15,2010 | 09:48 PM
This helped on my project! Thanks!
Posted by Steven and Jacob on May 7,2010 | 11:57 AM
i love this it really helped me with my project! thanks :)
Posted by Amanda on May 4,2010 | 02:03 PM
san juan is a beutiaful place to vist and i would love to go camping there to because the water lights up in the water when it gets dark outside.
Posted by FRANCIS on May 3,2010 | 07:11 PM
Puerto Rico is a beautiful place filled with exotic nature and beauty. It`s a place of relaxation.A place to clear your head and surrond yourself with what nature has to offer.Its a place i would recommend to any one. So please think about going for a visit.
Posted by Lauren on March 16,2010 | 03:24 PM
i cant wait to visit!
Posted by Erica on February 15,2010 | 10:17 PM
Can you include some pics of the more interesting landmarks and points of interest? Many thanks... looking forward to a visit with family..
tony in Dallas, Tex
Posted by tony vera on September 2,2009 | 05:36 PM