San Juan, Puerto Rico is a mixture of the old and the new... a bustling
city with a special appeal...but nowhere is that more evident that in that
part we lovingly call " mi viejo San Juan"..old San Juan. It is the sheer
weight of history that pervades its atmosphere that makes us go back again
and again in endless pilgrimages to its streets, looking for our roots...San
Juan is delightful and lively...The sense of history here is extremely
appealing.The core of the city dates back more than four centuries; it
is older than any other city under the American flag. Its buildings and
fortifications are among the best preserved of Spain's colonial cities;
wandering through its narrow streets is journeying through history....but
it is also a lively, living little city, alive with myriad sounds, smells,
tastes, textures and even emotions..it is one of the historic treasures
of the New World. La Fortaleza and forts El Morro and San Cristobal are
World Heritage as well as National Historic sites. The UNESCO World Heritage
Site designation is no small acclaim. It means the world community has
deemed these locations as important legacies for all mankind.
Caparra was founded in 1508 a few miles inland from a big and beautiful
bay that Juan Ponce de Leon called puerto rico ("rich port"). The
island was named San Juan and Ponce de Leon was named its Governor. After
some years, when it became apparent that the open and marshy terrain was
a site ideal for insect propagation and indian attacks a town of about
300 settlers began to take shape on the small island on the northern side
of San Juan Bay by June of 1519. But it was in 1521 that the city was baptized
with the name of San Juan of Puerto Rico...Only three-and-one half miles
long and approximately one mile wide, San Juan, with its natural harbor
in an inlet easily arrived at by sea, was a perfect place to defend. San
Juan was built quicly and it consisted of, first and foremost, the church,
surrounded by some 80 houses. These primitive structures were built of
wood and covered with thatched straw. The first four main streets were
designed in a simple grid system: Calle del Cristo, West Recinto, Caleta
San Juan and Caleta Las Monjas.San Juan was to slowly gain importance as
it was on the route of convoys that were to take back to Spain the riches
discovered in North and South America and in other richer colonies in the
Caribbean.San Juan stands on the western edge of an islet that is bordered
in the north by the Atlantic and on the south and west by a vast and graceful
bay. On the eastern side, historic San Antonio bridge joins the islet to
the mainland of Puerto Rico.
The Spanish began construction of walls and fortresses that would ensure
the city's defense. The first, begun in 1537, was the palace-fortress which
came to be called La Fortaleza ("the Fortress"). It later became apparent
that the location was not the best for the defense of the harbor and a
stronger fort on El
Morro (The Headland or promontory)was planned. In 1539 construction
of that fort, which would be named San
Felipe del Morro was started, but it was in 1591 that the great
hornwork was built. By 1783 El Morro had become essentially what it is
today, a single compact unit with six levels rising 140 feet above the
sea and with a vast field on the land side covering a system of mining
tunnels.Its mission was to close the harbor entrance with its firepower.
Inside, the castle has all the appearance of a living citadel: barracks,cisterns,
supply and storage rooms, dungeons, a chapel, armory and offices, all bombproof
against the explosives of past centuries.Safe behind El Morro's towering
walls, Spain's lonely garrison fought off Sir Francis Drake privater fleet
in 1595 but succumbed three years later to a siege by the third earl of
Cumberland, George Clifford. Heat and disease quickly drove the British
out, but in 1625 a Dutch force laid siege to the Spanish outpost.The Spanish
held on to the fort tenaciously, though the Dutch sacked much of Old San
Juan. Refortified, the fort appeared invincible to the British in 1797.
El Morro withstood an artillery barrage by US warships during the Spanish-American
war of 1898. Not until Spain ceded the island to the United States at the
end of the war did the the Spanish flag over this resilient bastion come
down permanently.The fort is today part of the San Juan National
Historic Site and is administered by the National
Park Service .
View from El Morro towards the old city.
Attacks by Drake in 1595, the Earl of Cumberland in 1598 and the Dutch
in 1625 made it evident that stronger fortifications were needed to protect
against landward attacks and in 1634 construction began on Fort
San Cristobal and the Walls
of the city.A masterpiece of 18th century military engineering, San
Cristobal dominates Plaza Colon and the
eastern approach to Old San Juan.The Wall's average heighth is 40 feet
but reaches 48 feet by La Fortaleza and the width varies from 20 feet at
the base to ten or 12 feet at the top.The Wall still exists on the northern
and western sides but was torn down on the southern and eastern side to
make room for expansion of the city.
The city shows its best side from the harbor. Because of the natural
slope of the terrain the complex of buildings takes the form of a great
amphitheater framed by a formidable ring of walls and castles. The combination
of modern buildings and old houses give variety to the cityscape and gives
Old San Juan its picturesque and colorful character.It is a city with a
proud and rich heritage... It is estimated there are at least 400 structures
of historic value in Old San Juan.
The face of colonial Spain can still be seen in the streets of San Juan--cobblestone
paving, inner patios and courtyards, overhanging balconies and religious
shrines. But the city's most impressive features are still the old castles
and fortifications which provided its defense.
Old San Juan is not large; only a seven -block-square and is thus easy
to explore by foot...Start at El Morro at the top of the hill..enjoy the
breathtaking views of the Bay and the Atlantic. As you leave the grounds
of El Morro to the east, you'll come to the new Plaza
del Quinto Centenario --or Quicentennial Square. Set on steps and on
various levels, the square has a totemic monument and a fountain with over
one hundred jets of water simbolizing the past five centuries..The upper
western level offers a majestic view of the old San Juan Cemetery with
the Atlantic Ocean in the background. Nearby is the Cuartel de Ballaja
or Ballaja military barracks, once home to Spanish troops and their families
and the largest building engineered by the Spaniards in the New World.
It will be the Museum of the Americas.Close by is the Dominican Convent,
dating from the 16th Century and now Headquarters of the Institute of Puerto
Rican Culture...stroll on San Jose Plaza with its
statue of Juan Ponce de Leon; the Plaza looks like any other provincial
square in any outpost of the Spanish empire.The statue was made from cannons
captured during the unsuccesful British attack on San Juan in 1797. Facing
the Plaza is San Jose Church, the oldest church building in Puerto Rico
and the second oldest in the New World. Close by visit the Pablo
Casals Museum. Follow the Wall to the Casa Blanca
built for the first Governor who, however, never lived there.The family
of Ponce de Leon lived there until 1779; after departing, the house was
used as headquarters of the Corps of Military Engineers until 1898 and
is now a museum of family life in the 16th and 17th century Puerto Rico.
A sweeping view of San Juan harbor can be seen from the small plaza at
the end of the Caleta Las Monjas, the Plazuela
de las Rogativas . Go to Cristo Street and the Cathedral of San Juan
originally built in the 1520's.The original, built of wood and thatch and
built on the most prominent spot of the town, facing the port, was destroyed
by a hurricane. In 1540 a substantial structure was begun but the Cathedral
seen today is largely the result of work done in the early 19th Century.The
Cathedral contains the marble tomb of Ponce de Leon whose remains were
transferred here from San Jose Church in 1908.The San Juan Gate is a short
walk away, the only gate of the original six still standing. It was built
on the little cove just north of La Fortaleza where small ships in early
times preffered to anchor; on its top is a sign that reads;"Benedictus
qui venit in nomini Domini". The door was closed down at sunset to cut
off access to the city. Just outside the gate, facing the cove, a statue
honors Queen Isabella of Spain--it is inscribed "Isabela la Catolica-Madre
de America".
Visit La Fortaleza , the Residence of the
Governor of the island, completed in 1540 but rebuilt in 1846. Re-take
Cristo Street and visit the charming Plaza de las Palomas , a small
park with trees and benches but overrun by pigeons -for which it is named.The
park is built along the top of the city wall and is next to the historicCapilla
del Cristo on the southern Wall, dedicated to the Christ of Miracles.Then
take Fortaleza Street towards the main plaza or Plaza de Armas,
also known variously during its history as the Plaza Principal, Plaza Alfonso
XII, and the Plaza de la Constitucion; recently remodeled and named
that way because citizens trained there in case they had to defend the
city. Later the plaza became a social center; on certain evenings a band
played there.Thae Plaza has been the scene of parades, speeches, demonstrations,
weary tourists, running children and pigeon feeding.The four statues that
preside over the square represent the four seasons and are over a hundred
years old. La Alcaldia or City Hall is adjacent to the Plaza; completed
by 1789 it is a beautiful building with a double arcade facade flanked
by two towers which is said to have been inspired by Madrid's City Hall,
which it resembles.
Walking more down the hill you will reach the Bay front with historic
Paseo
de La Princesa where sunsets are spectacular. The promenade, elegantly
landscaped with trees, statues, benches, streetlamps and kiosks faces the
bay and a fountain with a bronze sculpture depicting the island's cultural
roots.Close by is the old Princesa Jail built in 1837, now restored Headquarters
of the Tourism Co.The heighth of the city wall can well be appreciated
here. La Casita, a miniature building, today houses the P.R.Tourism Co.
information center.The newly renovated tourism piers at the Marina
area are the base for arrival and departure of the most beautiful and largest
of cruise ships in the Caribbean; San Juan is the second largest home port
for cruise passengers.Rest in shady parks and enjoy a traditional refresco
such
as a piragua
(tropical fruit flavored snow cones) or helados
(ices,
commonly of coconut or pineapple).
Then ascend the hill again in the eastern side past the Tapia Theater,
built in 1832 and named after Alejandro Tapia y Rivera, Puerto Rico's first
prominent playwright. The theater was last restored in 1976 at 300 times
its original cost.Go up to magnificent San Cristobal Castle on Norzagaray
Street.The fort is also administered by the National Park Service as part
of the San Juan National Historic Site.
Old San Juan is the historic core of the Capital City but the city as such
includes the suburbs of Santurce, Hato Rey and Rio Piedras. The so called
Metropolitan
San Juan area encompasses also the cities of Bayamon, Carolina and
Trujillo Alto.This is the political base,economic powerhouse and cultural
center of the island, and home to about one third of all Puerto Ricans.
Modern expressways cut through its urban sprawl to link towering concrete
buildings and beachfront hotels.
The tourist area of El Condado with its glittering beachfront strip
of modern hotels is linked to Puerta de Tierra and Old San Juan
by the Dos Hermanos Bridge, built in 1910. The greater neighborhood
of Santurce, adjoining the Condado, was once the most exclusive in San
Juan but is now in sad decline.
The Isla Verde sector, also a tourist area with beautiful but crowded
beaches is located to the east of Santurce and El Condado and is
close to the Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport, the major transportation
center of the Caribbean.
The Hato Rey district, situated to the south of the Martin Peña
Canal, is today the "Wall Street" of the West Indies. Housing the banking
district within the "golden mile"it is so named because of the large number
of banking institutions within a mile stretch along Muñoz Rivera
Avenue.
Rio Piedras, south of both Hato Rey and Santurce is most known as the
location of the main Campus of the University of Puerto
Rico and its student population.
The San Juan area is rich in both cultural and recreational activities
and has a varied nigh-life both in the old and new San Juan areas.
The Seal of the City