Francisco R. Zayas Seijo, also known as Ico, is a former member of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives and mayor of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. During his 4-year mayoral term, Zayas Seijo established the Mariana Suárez de Longo Library and Historical Archive of Ponce, the Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño, the Centro Ponceño de Autismo, the Agüeybaná II "El Bravo" Plaza, and also expanded the Julio Enrique Monagas Family Park. He initiated to the concept of the Centro de Convenciones de Ponce and the Ponce Aquarium; however, neither one of these two saw fruition before he completed his term in January 2009. He was, however, instrumental in the development of the Parque Lineal Veredas del Labrador, as well as the Río Portugués Dam and the expansion of the Ponce Municipal Police. During his administration, the Municipal Police acquired, installed, and put into operation 106 street cameras and a video command center. These were complemented by 130 additional cameras installed by the Puerto Rico Police.
The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Doctorate degrees in education, business administration, the sciences, and arts and humanities. It also has campuses in Arecibo and Mayagüez, as well as a satellite extension in Coamo. It is also home to a School of Law and a School of Architecture. The university also founded a medical school, Escuela de Medicina de Ponce, in 1977, but in 1980 became an independent entity that eventually became the Ponce Health Sciences University.
Manuel de la Pila Iglesias was a Puerto Rican physician practicing in Ponce, Puerto Rico, who specialized in a half-dozen medical specialities. He founded a medical clinic in Ponce that grew into a large medical center. Pila Iglesias is considered "one of the giants of Puerto Rican medicine". He was also one of the leaders behind the development of the School of Medicine of the University of Puerto Rico.
Barrio Playa, also known as Playa de Ponce, Ponce Playa, or La Playa, is one of the thirty-one barrios that comprise the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Bucaná, Canas, Vayas, and Capitanejo, Playa is one of the municipality's five coastal barrios. Barrio Playa also incorporates several islands, the largest of which is Caja de Muertos. It was founded in 1831.
Avenida Las Américas, is a major thoroughfare in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Most of its length is signed as Puerto Rico Highway 163 (PR-163). The highway has both of its termini as well as all of its length entirely within the Ponce city limits. It runs west to east. As of 12 November 2010, the segment of this road from its intersection in the west with PR-2R to its intersection in the east with PR-12, officially became the Bulevar Luis A. Ferré. The segment from Avenida Hostos in the east to Carretera Pámpanos (PR-2R) in the west, the first segment built, was built in 1960.
The Policía Municipal de Ponce is the main police force for the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico, with jurisdiction in the entire municipality, including all 31 barrios of Ponce. It was created in 1867 and reorganized in 1977.
The Ponce Municipal Library, formally, Biblioteca Municipal Mariana Suárez de Longo, and also known as Biblioteca Publica de Ponce, is the library system of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Founded in 1870, it is the oldest public library in Puerto Rico. The system has its main library on Miguel Pou Boulevard, in barrio San Antón, in the city of Ponce, and seven satellite library branches, three in the city's urban area and four spread out in the municipality's rural areas. The main library inaugurated a new building on Bulevar Miguel Pou in August 2007, where the former Puerto Rico District Court building was located. The central library building on Bulevar Miguel Pou was designed by Ponce architect Juan Dalmau Sambolín.
The Parque Ecológico Urbano, also known as Parque Ecológico de Ponce, is a passive park in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The park was designed by Bonin Orozco Arquitectos and was inaugurated on 19 September 2012. The park is unique in that it was designed to create a "green lung" in the city by using ecological mindset in its entirety, from the construction materials used to the design and other areas as well. Except for one tree that got relocated within the project, the new park made use of all the existing trees and shrubs as they existed on the site prior to the development of the park.
The Parque Lineal Veredas del Labrador, also known as Parque Lineal de Ponce, Veredas del Labrador, or just Parque Lineal, is a passive park in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The park links to, but it is different from, a neighboring park also currently under construction called Parque Ecológico Urbano. The park runs along the Río Portugués and Río Bucaná rivers in the city of Ponce.
Martín Corchado was a nineteenth-century Puerto Rican physician who excelled in charitable medical services as well as in the field of medical research. He owned the first microscope brought to Puerto Rico, which he used to do research on tuberculosis.
Centro Médico Episcopal San Lucas, commonly known as Hospital San Lucas, is a hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico.
Complejo Ferial de Puerto Rico, is a 3,000-seat indoor arena and convention center in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is intended to be used primarily for trade shows, conventions and sporting events. It opened in June, 2012. One of the first pre-inauguration activities was a set of Olympic boxing pre-match games. Its official inauguration was subsequently set for September 2012. However, its official inauguration took place on 11 October 2012.
The Interamerican University of Puerto Rico at Ponce — or Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ponce (UIPR-P) in Spanish, and often referred as "La Inter"— is a Christian co-educational non-sectarian university in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It was founded in 1962. It is part of the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico system, whose main campus is in San German, Puerto Rico.
The Justas de Atletismo y Festival Deportivo de Puerto Rico —better known as Las Justas Intercolegiales or simply as Las Justas — is an intercollegiate sports competition held annually in Puerto Rico where Puerto Rican colleges and universities compete against each other in different sports. The event is sponsored by the Liga Atlética Interuniversitaria de Puerto Rico (LAI). The event usually include competitions in softball, basketball, beach volleyball, judo, table tennis, swimming, cheerleading, women's football, and athletics.
Villa Pesquera is a sea-front fishing village in barrio Playa, in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The site is one of the tourist attractions in the municipality of Ponce.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
The Complejo Recreativo y Cultural La Guancha is a recreational complex in barrio Playa in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with family recreational and cultural facilities that opened on 23 June 1998. The highlight of the complex is the Paseo Tablado La Guancha, which is flanked by a beach, an observation tower, an amphitheater, and 24 open-air kiosks. It was developed during the administration of Mayor Rafael Cordero Santiago. In October 2017, after Hurricane Maria, it closed to the public to undergo repairs but, as of January 2020, when the area suffered severe damage due to the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes, no repairs had been made and, as of 17 June 2020, it remained closed. By late 2020 arrangements were made for the merchants that operated from waterfront kiosks to reopen their businesses out of provisional facilities at a temporary location away from the waterfront while reconstruction of the waterfront area takes place.
Terminal de Transportación Pública Carlos Garay, formerly, Terminal de Carros Públicos Carlos Garay, is a public transportation terminal for shared ride passengers and SITRAS bus system in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is located on the block bounded by Calle Vives, Calle Unión, Calle Victoria and Calle Mendez Vigo, in the Ponce Historic Zone, two blocks northwest of the main city square, Plaza Las Delicias. It opened in 1987. On a typical weekday, approximately 500 passengers on about 40 buses and shared-ride vehicles use the station. The building is an example of 1960s urban renewal. When at its peak, the Carlos Garay terminal accommodates over 100 públicos.
Puerto Rico Highway 163 (PR-163) is a major two-way thoroughfare in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The road has both of its termini as well as all of its length entirely within the Ponce city limits. The road runs east to west from its eastern terminus at PR-2 in Barrio San Antón to its western terminus at PR-500 in Barrio Canas. The road has a length of 4.8 kilometers. Most of the road runs as part of Avenida Las Américas.
