Local Attractions In San Juan Puerto Rico
The cruise ships dock right at the doorstep of Old San Juan, a seven-block area packed with historical and cultural sights which include Gothic churches, restored colonial buildings, townhouses with inner courtyards and wrought-iron balconies, museums, art galleries, bou-tiques, plazas, fountains and gardens. An information center is conve-niently located beside Pier 1 inside (1) La Casita (the little house) and is an ideal starting point for a self-guided walking tour of these historic streets and fortifications. Refreshments can be enjoyed along the way at various restaurants and sidewalk cafes, or from street vendors who seli bottled water and sof t drinks. Piraguas (fruit-flavored snow cones) and helados (coconut and pineapple ices) are popular with the locals.
(2) Aduana, the beautiful pink building overlooking the harbor, is a U.S. Customs House. Nearby (3) El Arsenal was built in 1800 as a base for patrol boats and it currently houses Divisions of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. Three art galleries are located within the grounds. An elegant promenade, (4) Paseo La Princesa, runs parallel with the city wall and is where Spanish gentry of the 19th century önce strolled. Restored for the Columbus Quincentennial, the esplanade is lined with palms and ornate street lamps, and features a large bronze fountain titled Raices (Roots), its human figures representing Puerto Rico’s Indian, African and Spanish founders.
Paseo La Princesa leads past (5) La Princesa, a former jail, which has also been restored to its former colonial grandeur and is now the headquarters for the Puerto Rico Tourism Company, the island’s offi-cial tourism body. The promenade curves along the waterfront at the base of the city wall, called La Muralla, which is guarded at strategic points by garitas (sentry boxes). (6) La Puerta de San Juan (San Juan Gate) is one of six heavy wooden doors önce positioned along the wall and which, for centuries, were bolted shut at sundown to secure the for-tified city from enemy attack.
Pass through this gate and make an immediate right on Recinto Oeste Street for a look at (7) La Fortaleza (The Fortress) which over-looks San Juan Bay. Built as a fort in 1540, its location proved poor for military defence and its role reverted to that of governor’s mansion -the oldest one in use in the Western Hemisphere. The grounds are öpen \veekdays to organized tours that start every hour in a small plaza beside the building.
A turn to the left upon passing through the San Juan Gate will take you to the top of a hill where (8) Plazuela de la Rogativa (Small Plaza of the Religious Procession) is a popular gathering place for local residents and the staging of children’s puppet shows. A bronze sculpture here depicts an event of 1797 when Old San Juan was under attack by British ships. in desperation, the residents of San Juan, led by their bishop, marched through the streets one night carrying lit torches and praying for their safety. The British apparently mistook this parade of lights for Spanish reinforcements and retreated from the harbor. Opposite the Plazuela de la Rogativa is the Museo Felisa Rincon de Gautier (the former home of a popular mayor) and behind it the Museo del Nino (Children’s Museum).
North of Plazuela de la Rogativa you will come to a fork in the road. On the left is Casa Rosada (Pink House) which was built in 1812 for the Spanish army. To the right an upper road leads past a plant-decked wall to a doorway from which steps lead into the lovely gardens of (9) Casa Blanca (White House). Built in 1521 as the city’s original fortress, this is the oldest Spanish colonial building in Old San Juan and has been modified över the years. it was a gift from Spain’s monarch to Ponce de Leon for his settling of Puerto Rico. Ponce de Leon died the year the original wooden house was built, but his family resided there until 1779, when it was sold to the Spanish government. Following the Spanish-American war in 1898, the Commander of the U.S. Army lived at Casa Blanca until 1967. it was declared a National Historic Monument in 1968. Recently restored and furnished with authentic 16th- and 17th-century pieces, the mansion now contains two museums - the Juan Ponce de Leon Museum and the Taino Indian Etfmo-Historic Museum. They are öpen Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Between Casa Blanca and the grounds of El Morro stand two impressive colonial buildings. Asilo de Beneficenica, its facade con-sisting of wrought-iron fencing and green shutters, contains the head-quarters of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and several galleries which are öpen Wednesday through Sunday. The red-domed building beside it was built in the 1800s and now houses a school of fine arts.
One of the most popular attractions in Old San Juan is the dramatic fort of (10) El Morro, öpen daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free and a brochure map is available at the entrance.Administered by the National Park Service, El Morro’s full name is Castillo de San Felipe del Morro or ‘Castle St. Philip of the Headland’. The fort is reached by a long, straight path which leads across a broad grassy area called a glacis. This cleared land was smoothed and sloped by the Spanish so that attacking troops had no shelter from the fort’s cannon fire. Beneath the ground are tunnels in which kegs of gunpowder were planted should enemy troops try to lay siege to the fort.
From this landward approach, the fort strikes a surprisingly low profile, so engineered to make it a small target for enemy troops approach ing by land. This was achieved by a dry moat which was dug along its length so the main wall could be sunk into the ground, yet stili present a formidable height for scaling. The ocean side of the fort, in contrast to the landward side, consists of six tiers of batteries that loom above the water, protecting the fort from sea attacks. The lowest gun platform, the Water Battery, is washed by ocean swells while the uppermost ramparts - the Ochoa and Austria Bastions - stand 145 feet high.
Inside the fort, its entrance guarded by a drawbridge, are storerooms, gun rooms, troop quarters, a chapel and prison. These ali öpen onto a central courtyard beneath which are cisterns. Tunnels and stairways connect differ-ent parts of the fort, and a museum is located in one of the bombproof vaults.
The El Morro lighthouse, which took a direct hit during the Spanish-American War, stands on the fort’s fifth level. First constructed in 1846, it has been replaced three times since then. A working lighthouse, it helps guide ships entering one of the Caribbean’s busiest ports.
Returning to the city streets, the next historic site is (11) Ballaja Barracks where Spanish troops and their families önce lived. The Museum of the Americas is on its second floor. On the eastern side of the barracks is (12) Plaza del Quinto Centenario (Quincentennial Square), constructed for the 1992-93 celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the discovery of the New World. This multi-level square affords a sweeping vista of El Morro and, from its upper western level, a view of the (13) San Juan Cemetery.
The steps of the square lead to (14) Plaza de San Jose where a statue of Ponce de Leon stands outside San Jose Church - the second oldest church in the Western Hemisphere, built in 1532, and the family church of Ponce de Leon’s descendants. A beautiful example of Gothic architecture, the church was originally built as a chapel. Next to the church is the Convento de los Dominicos, containing the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture book and music store. Tucked in a corner townhouse of the plaza is the Museo de Pablo Casals, a small museum containing memorabilia of the famous cellist who spent his final years in San Juan. On the plaza’s eastern side is Casa de las Contrafuertes (House of Buttresses), which contains the Museum of Latin American Prints and a Pharmacy Museum.
Cristo Street leads from Plaza de San Jose down the hill to (15) San Juan Cathedral. Built in 1540 with early 19th-century modifications, the cathedral contains the marble tomb of Juan Ponce de Leon. Two blocks south of the Cathedral, at the foot of Cristo Street, you will see (16) Capilla de Cristo (Christ Chapel) dedicated to the Christ of Miracles. it was built following a 1753 incident in which a youfh was racing his horse down the hill at such a speed that rider and horse could not possibly stop before hurtling över the city wall. One legend is that both miraculously came to a halt just in time, another says the horse stopped but the boy flew över the wall, and a third version claims they both met their maker at this spot. Beside Capilla de Cristo is the small
Parque de las Palomas (Pigeon Park) with a fine view of the harbor. Lying opposite is Casa del Libro (House of Books), a small museum and library with a collection of rare, pre-16th century books.
(17) Plaza de Armas (Army Plaza) lies a block east of Cristo Street on San Francisco. Several government buildings surround the square, which was originally used for military drills, when built in the 16th cen-tury, and is now a social gathering place. City Hail, completed in 1789, stands on the plaza’s north side and was designed to resemble its coun-terpart in Madrid; it contains a visitor information center. An adminis-tration building, at the west end of the plaza, and the provincial delega-tion building at its northwest corner, are fine examples of 19th-century neoclassical architecture. The century-old statues gracing the plaza rep-resent the four seasons.
At the eastern end of Fortaleza Street, where it intersects with O’Donnel, you’ll find (18) Plaza de Colon (Columbus Plaza) and Teatro Tapia, a 19th-century theatre. A few blocks north is the entrance to (19) San Cristobal Fort, öpen daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. East of the historic quarter is the dome-roofed (20) Capitol Building.
