Walls of Old San Juan

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Walls of Old San Juan
Murallas del Viejo San Juan
City Wall, San Juan, PR, U.S.A ..jpg
Western wall from Paseo de la Princesa towards Castillo San Felipe del Morro
USA Puerto Rico location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Puerto Rico.
Location Old San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°28′3″N66°6′37″W / 18.46750°N 66.11028°W / 18.46750; -66.11028
Governing body National Park Service
CriteriaCultural: (vi)
Designated 1983 (7th session)
Part of La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico
Reference no. 266bis-001
Extensions2016
DesignatedOctober 15, 1966
Reference no.66000930 [1]

The Walls of Old San Juan (Spanish: Murallas del Viejo 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 (La Fortaleza, El Morro and San Cristóbal), 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. [2]

Contents

San Juan remains the only walled city under the United States jurisdiction, with walled cities like Boston, Charleston and New Orleans no longer having walls after the 18th century, although St. Augustine, Florida still retains several wall remnants. [3] [4] [5] Examples of other North American walled cities that retain their ramparts are Quebec City in Canada and Campeche in Mexico. [6] [7] The bartizans (garitas) found along the walls are considered emblematic of the city of San Juan and a symbol of historic heritage preservation in Puerto Rico. [8] [9]

Overview

Construction of the defensive walls began in 1634 with the establishment of 3 miles of masonry walls, and by 1783 the wall system fully encircled the city of Old San Juan. The current wall system continued to be updated and modified between the 17th and the 20th centuries, although most of the current structure dates to the 18th century. [10] About three fourths of the walls remain as the southeastern portion was demolished after being heavily damaged by the 1867 earthquake and in order to allow for the eastward urban development of Old San Juan during the time that the Islet of San Juan was being connected to the emerging San Juan streetcar system and the expanding railroad system of Puerto Rico. [11] [12] The remaining portions of the wall system are now historically protected, and it additionally consist of series of ramparts and bastions interconnected with El Morro and San Cristóbal defensive castles. [13]

Layout and components

Southeastern wall and Puerta de Tierra

Plaza de Santiago (today Plaza Colon), site of the former Gate of Santiago (Puerta de Tierra). PlazadeSantiago.jpg
Plaza de Santiago (today Plaza Colón), site of the former Gate of Santiago (Puerta de Tierra).

The southeastern portion of the city wall system is the only section that does not remain as it was demolished by the end of the 19th century after suffering irreparable damages from the 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake. Additionally, much effort in the development of the defensive system of the Islet of San Juan had been focused on the construction of the Fortín de San Gerónimo de Boquerón and the development of the eastern Advanced Defense Line earlier in the 18th century. During this time, the damaged southeastern portion of the wall was considered militarily redundant and physically obstructive for the eastward urban expansion of Old San Juan. [14]

The former southern wall extended from the still standing Bastión de la Derecha de San Justo y Pastor, located at the eastern end of Paseo de La Princesa, eastward along Recinto Sur and Covadonga Streets. At the time of the demolition of the wall, Covadonga Avenue (better known as Paseo Covadonga) formed part of the northern terminus of the Camino Real (today the Ponce de León Avenue) and it was the location of the Covadonga Railway and Streetcar Terminal which no longer stands. North from this site was the location of the main eastern access gate into the city, where Plaza Colón (formerly known as Santiago Square) is today. The eastern district of the Islet of San Juan still retains the name of this gate, colloquially known as Puerta de Tierra (Land Gate, officially Gate of Santiago), as it provided ground access into the city from the mainland of Puerto Rico. From here the wall connected to the San Cristóbal Castle, the largest colonial fortification built by Europeans in the New World. [15] [16]

Northern wall

San Sebastian Bastion and La Perla. La Perla, Viejo San Juan.jpg
San Sebastián Bastion and La Perla.

From the San Cristóbal Castle, the city wall includes the Bastión de Santa Teresa and a bartizan or sentry box popularly known as Garita del Diablo, and it extends eastward along Norzagaray Street providing the city defense from attacks coming from the Atlantic Ocean. Several unplanned communities organically developed around slaughterhouse sites along the north flank of this wall between the 17th and 18th centuries, of which La Perla remains today. [17] This wall section contains the bastions of San Sebastián, Santo Tomás, Las Ánimas and San Antonio, and the eastward walls of El Morro. [18]

Western wall and Puerta de Agua

Gate of San Juan (Puerta de Agua) Puerta San Juan SJU 06 2019 6268.jpg
Gate of San Juan (Puerta de Agua)

Fort San Felipe del Morro represents the main defensive structure along the northwestern portion of the wall system, in addition to the main defensive entry point into the San Juan Bay together with the smaller Fortín San Juan de la Cruz, popularly known as El Cañuelo, located across the entrance of the bay in Isla de Cabras. [19]

The western first line of defense consists of the San Fernando Battery, the Santa Elena Battery and the Bastión de Santa Elena. This place is also the site of a powder warehouse and several defensive infrastructure and buildings such as what is today known as the Casa Rosa (Pink House). From here the wall extends southward by La Fortaleza , a former military palace that today serves as the main residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico. The other main access gate to the city is still located here and it is known as the Gate of San Juan (Puerta de San Juan), although it used to be colloquially known as Puerta de Agua (Water Gate, in contrast to Puerta de Tierra in the east) since it provided access into the old port of San Juan. [18]

This portion of the walls can be accessed today through the El Morro Esplanade and the Paseo del Morro, a mile-long path that connects the Paseo de La Princesa to the lower walls of El Morro at the entrance of the Bay of San Juan. [20]

Southern wall

Southwestern wall along Paseo de La Princesa. San Juan, Paseos 02.jpg
Southwestern wall along Paseo de La Princesa.

The southern portion of the wall extends for about half a mile between La Fortaleza and the Bastión de la Derecha de San Justo y Pastor (the "Left-side Bastion") along the contemporary Paseo de La Princesa, which was the site of a former military prison known as La Princesa Prison. [18] The Bastión de la Concepción, located immediately southeast of La Fortaleza, is the site of the historic Convent of the Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick (Convento y Casa de Salud Siervas de María), while the Bastión de las Palmas de San José is today the site of a public square. The Parque de las Palomas and the famous Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud are located along the walls between these two bastions.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan, Puerto Rico</span> Capital and largest city of Puerto Rico

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City gate</span> Gate set within a city wall

A city gate is a gate which is, or was, set within a city wall. It is a type of fortified gateway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Fortaleza</span> Official residence and office of the governor of Puerto Rico

La Fortaleza, also known as Palacio de Santa Catalina, has been the official residence of the governor of Puerto Rico since the 16th century, making it the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the New World. Built between 1533 and 1540 on the orders of King Charles I of Spain, the structure was the first fortification constructed by the Spanish on San Juan Islet to defend Old San Juan and its harbor on San Juan Bay from invasions by foreign powers and harassment by privateers and pirates during the Age of Discovery and Exploration. It was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983 as part of La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castillo San Felipe del Morro</span> Fortress in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is a citadel built between 16th and 18th centuries in the historic district of Old San Juan located in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castillo San Cristóbal (San Juan)</span> Fortress in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Castillo San Cristóbal is a fortress in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was built by the Spanish to protect against land-based attacks on the historic city of Old San Juan. It is part of San Juan National Historic Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old San Juan</span> Historic district of San Juan, Puerto Rico

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. Old San Juan is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and the historic colonial district of the city of San Juan. This historic district is a National Historic Landmark District named Zona Histórica de San Juan and is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places as the Old San Juan Historic District. Several historical buildings and structures, particularly La Fortaleza, the city walls, and El Morro and San Cristóbal castles, have been inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage Site list since 1983. Historically the mixed-use commercial and residential real estate in the main streets of Calle Cristo and Calle Fortaleza from Calle Tanca to the Governor’s Mansion is the most valuable in the area and it has kept its value and increased steadily through several years despite the past economic turmoils.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan National Historic Site</span> U.S. national park site in 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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartizan</span> Small turret projecting from the top of towers or parapets

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Puerta de Tierra, San Juan</span> Subbarrio of San Juan Antiguo in Puerto Rico

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Juan Islet</span> Island with Old San Juan in Puerto Rico

San Juan Islet or Islet of San Juan is a 3-square-mile (7.8 km2) islet or small island on San Juan Bay in the Atlantic coast of northern Puerto Rico. Home to Old San Juan, it is the site of the oldest permanent European settlement in Puerto Rico (1521), and the second oldest European settlement in the West Indies after Santo Domingo (1496). Due its strategic location in the Caribbean during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, it is home to a city wall and a number of militaristic buildings such as El Morro Castle. Today, it is also home to many of Puerto Rico's government buildings such as the territory's capitol building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse</span> First lighthouse built in Puerto Rico

Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse, also known as Faro de Morro Port San Juan Light by the National Register of Historic Places and colloquially Faro del Castillo del Morro and Puerto San Juan Light, is a lighthouse atop the walls of Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan. It's the first lighthouse built in Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Perla, San Juan, Puerto Rico</span> Urban neighborhood in the Old San Juan Historic District in San Juan, Puerto Rico

La Perla is a historical shanty town astride the northern historic city wall of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, stretching about 650 yards (600 m) along the rocky Atlantic coast immediately east of the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery and down the slope from Calle Norzagaray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico</span> World heritage site in Puerto Rico

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paseo de la Princesa</span> Promenade in the historic district of San Juan, Puerto Rico

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 that is lined with Victorian lampposts and benches, large trees and gardens, and varying fountains and sculptures, and host to food and artisan street vendors, musical and theatrical street entertainers, and cultural restaurants and festivals. 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, passing by the Antigua Prisión La Princesa(The Princess Old Prison) from 1837, currently housing the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, and through the sculptural fountain Raíces (Roots), representing Puerto Rican identity since 1992, and ending at Puerta de San Juan , the starting location of Paseo del Morro (Promenade of the Morro).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaza Colón (San Juan)</span> Square in San Juan, Puerto Rico

Plaza Colón, formerly called Santiago Square, is a plaza or public town square located in Old San Juan where the easternmost city walls and main city gate used to be located. The square today is a popular meeting place and is often used as a starting point for sightseeing in Old San Juan as it is located close to the main cruise ship docks, numerous restaurants, cafés and gift shops, and important landmarks such as San Cristóbal Castle, Tapia Theater, the Old Casino and the Puerto Rico capitol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Línea Avanzada</span> United States historic place

The Advanced Defense Line is a historic district consisting of four structures that formed part of the eastern defensive system of the Islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paseo del Morro</span> Promenade in the historic district of San Juan, Puerto Rico

Paseo del Morro, is a waterside, riprap-lined, breakwater-protected pedestrian promenade about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in length located in the historic district of Old San Juan in Puerto Rico that runs adjacent and parallel to the western section of the Walls of Old San Juan on San Juan Bay. Built in 1999 as a extension of an existing 18th-century maintenance walkway on the southwestern section of the wall located on the final stretch of Paseo de la Princesa (Promenade of the Princess), the promenade is a contemporary construction bordering the western defensive wall, which originally stood directly exposed to the waters of San Juan Bay. It was designated a National Recreational Trail in 2001.

References

  1. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  3. ↑ "Demolished Boston". Buildings of New England. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  4. ↑ "The Walled City of Charles Town - Charleston - SC - US". Historical Marker Project. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  5. ↑ "Old City Gates and Walls - St. Augustine, Florida". www.exploresouthernhistory.com. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  6. ↑ Parks Canada Agency, Government of Canada (2022-04-29). "Fortifications of Québec National Historic Site". www.pc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  7. ↑ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Historic Fortified Town of Campeche". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  8. ↑ "TURISMO: Garitas de San Juan, emblema de Puerto Rico". Excelsior California (in Mexican Spanish). 2013-05-31. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  9. ↑ Mari Mut, Dr. José A. (2009–2013). Las garitas de San Juan (in Spanish). La Colección Puertorriqueña.
  10. ↑ Juan, Mailing Address: 501 Norzagaray Street San; Us, PR 00901 Phone: 787 729-6777 Contact. "Components - City Walls - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "Historia de Puerta de Tierra". Johnny Torres Rivera.
  12. ↑ "Historia de Puerta de Tierra (San Juan)". www.puertadetierra.info. Retrieved 2022-02-01.
  13. ↑ Juan, Mailing Address: 501 Norzagaray Street San; Us, PR 00901 Phone: 787 729-6777 Contact. "History & Culture - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Historia de Puerta de Tierra (San Juan)". www.puertadetierra.info. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  15. ↑ Juan, Mailing Address: 501 Norzagaray Street San; Us, PR 00901 Phone: 787 729-6777 Contact. "Park Components - San Cristobal - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ↑ "Líneas de Defensa de San Juan". 2012-07-24. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  17. ↑ "Visiting La Perla Neighborhood in Old San Juan". Discover Puerto Rico. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
  18. 1 2 3 "Las defensas de San Juan, Puerto Rico, en 1898". home.coqui.net. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  19. ↑ Juan, Mailing Address: 501 Norzagaray Street San; Us, PR 00901 Phone: 787 729-6777 Contact. "Park Components - El Morro - San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-15.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "Paseo del Morro". Discover Puerto Rico. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
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