San Juan is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jurisdiction of the United States, with a population of 342,259. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico.
Castillo San Felipe del Morro, most commonly known as El Morro(The Promontory), is a large fortress and citadel in the historic district of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Commissioned by King Charles I of Spain in 1539, it was first built as a fortified tower in honor of King Philip II, who oversaw its expansion into a hornwork fort by 1595. Over the next 200 years, especially in the reign of King Charles III, El Morro continued to be developed to reach its current form in 1787. Rising 140 ft from the Atlantic shoreline with 18 to 25 ft thick walls, the six-leveled edifice stands on a steep, rocky headland promontory on San Juan Islet guarding the entry to San Juan Bay, the harbor of Old San Juan. El Morro, alongside La Fortaleza, San Cristóbal, El Cañuelo, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias, from invasion by competing world powers during the Age of Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.
Castillo San Cristóbal is a fortress in the historic district of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, known as the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World. Dating back to defense expansions following attacks by the English in 1598 and the Dutch in 1625, it was first built in 1634 as the Garita del Diablo and an artillery platform. Over the next 150 years, especially in the reign of King Charles III of Spain, it continued to be developed into a bastion fort to reach its largest size in 1790. Rising 150 ft from the Atlantic shoreline, the three-level edifice stands on a hill at the northern coastline of San Juan Islet, guarding the land entry to Old San Juan. San Cristóbal, alongside El Morro, La Fortaleza, and other forts part of the Walls of Old San Juan, protected strategically and militarily important Puerto Rico, or La Llave de las Indias , from invasion by competing world powers during the Age of Sail. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.
Old San Juan is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan in San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (sub-districts) of barrio San Juan Antiguo in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
San Juan National Historic Site in the Old San Juan section of San Juan, Puerto Rico, is a National Park Service-managed historic site which preserves and interprets the Spanish colonial-era fortification system of the city of San Juan, and features structures such as the San Felipe del Morro and San Cristóbal fortresses. This fortification system is the oldest European construction under United States jurisdiction and one of the oldest in the New World. This national historic site, together with La Fortaleza, have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983.
The culture of Puerto Rico is the result of a number of internal and indigenous influences, both past and present. Modern cultural manifestations showcase the island's rish history and help create an identity that is uniquely Puerto Rican - Taíno, Spanish, African, and North American.
Ciudad Colonial is the historic central neighborhood of the Dominican Republic's capital Santo Domingo. It is the oldest continuously inhabited European-established settlement in the Americas. The area has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also known as Zona Colonial or more colloquially as "La Zona".
Luis Germán Cajiga is Puerto Rican painter, poet and essayist known for his screen printing depicting Puerto Rico's natural landscape, its creole culture, and religious motifs. He was born in 1934, in the municipality of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico, and his studio is currently based in the Old San Juan.
The San Juan Nationalist revolt was one of many uprisings against United States Government rule which occurred in Puerto Rico on October 30, 1950 during the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party revolts. Amongst the uprising's main objectives were an attack on La Fortaleza, and the U.S. Federal Court House Building in Old San Juan.
The Puerto Rican Nationalist Party insurgency was a series of coordinated insurrections for the secession of Puerto Rico led by the president of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party, Don Pedro Albizu Campos, against the United States government's rule over the islands of Puerto Rico. The party repudiated the "Free Associated State" status that had been enacted in 1950 and which the Nationalists considered a continuation of colonialism.
The Ponce City Hall is a historic city hall in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is located it the center of the city, on Calle Degetau, across from Plaza Degetau in the Ponce Historic Zone. The building serves as the seat of the executive branch of government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, including the office of the mayor of Ponce. Built in 1840, it is the oldest colonial building in the city. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as Casa Alcaldía de Ponce-City Hall.
Casa Blanca is a historic house museum situated in Old San Juan, the historic colonial district of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The Supreme Court Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico is an architecturally significant Modern-style building and the seat of the Supreme Court of Puerto Rico. It was built in 1955 and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Its modern architecture reflects changes to the Court after the establishment of Puerto Rico's new Commonwealth Status in 1952. The main façade is oriented toward the sites of the other two government's branches: the Capitol and La Fortaleza.
Raimundo Díaz Pacheco was a political activist and the Treasurer General of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. He was also commander-in-chief of the Cadets of the Republic, the official youth organization within the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party. This quasi-military organization was also known as the Ejército Libertador de Puerto Rico.
Cadets of the Republic, known in Spanish as Cadetes de la República, was the paramilitary wing of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party in the twentieth century. The organization was also referred to as the Liberation Army of Puerto Rico(Ejército Libertador de Puerto Rico).
Capilla del Cristo, also called Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud is a small chapel / museum located in the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Built in the 18th century and saved from demolition in the 20th century and preserved, the structure has become a cultural icon of Puerto Rico. Most of the articles located at its altar are from 1753. Travel guides list Capilla del Cristo as one of the must-see places of Old San Juan.
La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the Caribbean. The world heritage site consists of several historic defensive structures built by the Spanish Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries to defend the strategically located colonial city of San Juan and its bay from foreign attacks. These fortifications are among the oldest European-built defensive systems and largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to its historic importance the site is notable for its architectural significance as one of the most prominent military adaptations of Renaissance and Baroque architecture in the Americas.
Paseo de la Princesa, is a partially waterside 19th-century pedestrian promenade about .50 miles (0.80 km) in length, located in the historic district of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico. Constructed between 1852 and 1854 in honor of Queen Isabella II of Spain’s first-born, Princess of Asturias Infanta Isabel, the promenade runs adjacent and parallel to the southwestern section of the Walls of Old San Juan. Lined with Victorian lampposts and benches, large trees and gardens, and varying fountains and sculptures, it hosts food and artisan vendors, musical and theatrical entertainers, and cultural restaurants and festivals.
The Walls of Old San Juan is a defensive city wall that surrounds the western end of the San Juan Islet, site of the historic district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. This defensive wall system was built between the 16th and 18th centuries to protect the city and the Bay of San Juan, a highly strategic point in the Caribbean. These walls, along with the defensive fortresses in Old San Juan, form part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site-designated San Juan National Historic Site as they are characteristic examples of the historic methods of construction used in military architecture which adapted European designs and techniques to the special conditions of the Caribbean port cities.
Plaza del Quinto Centenario, also Plaza del V Centenario, popularly referred to as Plaza del Tótem, is a modern square in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, inaugurated in 1992 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the European discovery and Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico and the Americas and the first European settlement of San Juan. The square is located between the Ballajá and Mercado neighborhoods of the San Juan Antiguo barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is located next to the Ballajá Barracks, the Puerto Rican National Gallery and the San José Church, close to El Morro and the San Juan National Historic Site.
