Museum sights in San Juan
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Museum
This small but quite engaging museum of anthropology, history and art is worth a stop to see examples of the trove of Taíno Indian artifacts unearthed by university scholars in recent digs. In addition, this museum features revolving art shows and offers scholarly perspectives on island history. Finally, visiting the museum gives travelers a legitimate reason to be snooping around the university campus and opens opportunities for connecting with the students and faculty. The opening hours vary, so call ahead. It lies just inside the entrance to the UPR campus, next to the Biblioteca Lazaro.
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B
Convento de Los Dominicos
Next to the Iglesia de San José is the Convento de los Dominicos, a Dominican convent which dates from the 16th century. After centuries of use as a convent, the building became a barracks for Spanish troops and was later used as a headquarters for US occupational forces after the Spanish-American War of 1898. It has been restored to its colonial grandeur and houses the arts/crafts/music/book store of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueňa, as well as a small chapel museum. Cultural events are sometimes held in the patio, and art exhibitions in the galleries.
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C
El Arsenal
On the point of land called La Puntilla is a low, gray fortress with a Romanesque proscenium entrance. This is El Arsenal, a former Spanish naval station that was the last place to house Spanish military forces after the US victory in the Spanish-American War. Today, the arsenal is home to the fine and decorative arts divisions of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, and hosts periodic exhibitions in three galleries.
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D
Casa del Libro
Tucked away on a very pretty street is the Casa del Libro, yet another of the old city’s tiny museums. This restored 18th-century town house contains more than 5000 manuscripts and texts that date back 2000 years. The collection includes one of the most respected assemblages of incunabula (texts produced prior to 1501) in the Americas, including documents signed by King Ferdinand II and his wife Isabela.
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E
Museo de San Juan
Located in a Spanish colonial building at the corner of Calle MacArthur, the Museo de San Juan is the definitive take on the city’s 500-year history. The well laid-out exhibition showcases pictorial and photographic testimonies from the Caparra ruins to the modern-day shopping malls. There’s also a half-hour TV documentary about the history of San Juan (in both Spanish and English).
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F
Museo Felisa Rincón de Gautier
This museum is an attractive neoclassical town house that was once the long-time home of San Juan’s beloved mayor, Doña Felisa. She presided over the growth of her city with personal style and political acumen for more than 20 years during the Operation Bootstrap days of the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. This historic home is a monument to the life of an accomplished public servant.
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G
Museo del Niño
The pink and green building that sits on the edge of a small, shady park houses this museum. Kids love these hands-on exhibits – particular favorites include the short-wave radio display that lets them talk with children in other countries, the miniature town touting the benefits of recycling and a tour through the human heart.
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H
Fuerte San Cristóbal
San Juan’s second major fort is Fuerte San Cristóbal, one of the largest military installations the Spanish built in the Americas. In its prime, San Cristóbal covered 27 acres with a maze of six interconnected forts protecting a central core with 150ft walls, moats, booby-trapped bridges and tunnels.
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I
Museo de Nuestras Raices Africanas
Housed in the 18th-century Casa de los Contrafuertes (House of Buttresses) on the Plaza de San José, the compact Museo de Nuestras Raices Africanas displays masks, sculptures, musical instruments, documents and prints that highlight Puerto Rico's connections to West Africa. One exhibit recreates living conditions in a slave ship.
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J
El Morro
A six-level fort with a gray, castellated lighthouse, El Morro juts aggressively over Old San Juan’s bold headlands, glowering across the Atlantic at would-be conquerors. The 140ft walls (some up to 15ft thick) date back to 1539, and El Morro is said to be the oldest Spanish fort in the New World.
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K
Museo de las Américas
The Museo de las Américas gives an overview of cultural development in the New World. It features changing exhibitions and Caribbean and European American art, most notably an impressive santos (religious statuettes) collection.
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