Showing 1-18 of 18 results
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Casa Blanca
First constructed in 1521 as a residence of Puerto Rico's pioneering governor, Juan Ponce de León (who died before he could move in), the Casa Blanca, is the oldest continuously occupied house in the western hemisphere. For the first 250 years after its construction it served as the ancestral home for the de León family. In 1779 it was taken over by the Spanish military, then with the change of Puerto Rico's political status in 1898, it provided a base for US military commanders until 1966.
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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 Ferdinand and Isabela.
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Casa-Finca de Don Luis Muñoz Marín
This house and farm of Casa-Finca de Don Luis Muñoz Marín were once home to the godfather of the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD) and the man who shepherded Puerto Rico into commonwealth status - as well as a 20th-century industrialized market economy in the 1950s and '60s. Today, it is a museum honoring the memory of this legendary Puerto Rican figure, and it also serves as a venue for concerts and experimental theater.
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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.
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El Arsenal
On the point of land called La Puntilla is a low, gray fortress with a Romanesque proscenium entrance known as 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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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. The National Park Service (NPS) maintains this fort and the small military museum on the premises.
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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. The fort was constructed to defend Old San Juan against land attacks from the east via Puerta de Tierra.
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Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña
Once a home for the poor, this buff building with green trim, close to the intersection with Calle Norzagaray, now houses the executive offices of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña. The agency has been shepherding the flowering of the arts and cultural pride on the island since the 1950s. Its plazas, sheltered from the tourist traffic in the streets outside, are pleasantly tranquil.
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La Princesa
Poised against the outside wall of the city is La Princesa. Once a harsh jail, the long, gray and white stone structure now houses the main offices of the PRTC and an art gallery with welcome air-conditioning and frequently changing shows by first-rate island artists. The bronze statue in front depicts Doña Felisa Gautier, San Juan's revered mayor from 1946 to 1968.
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Museo de Antropología, Historia y Arte
The small but quite engaging Museo de Antropología, Historia y Arte displays 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.
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Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico
Another recent recipient of the makeover brush, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico sits just down the road from the Museo de Arte in a similarly eye-catching classical Georgian building - the former Rafael M Labra school - dating from 1918. The museum displays art from the mid-20th century onwards and showcases artists from Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Latin America.
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Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
The Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico opened in 2000 and rapidly inserted itself as a important nexus in the capital's vibrant cultural life. Housed in a splendid neoclassical building that was once the city's Municipal Hospital, MAPR is located in the city's revived Santurce district and boasts 18 exhibition halls spread over an area of 130,000 sq ft.
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Museo de Casals
On Plaza de San José is the Museo de Casals . A native of Spain's proud but repressed province of Catalonia, world-famous cellist Pablo Casals moved to his mother's homeland of Puerto Rico in 1956 to protest the dictatorial regime of Francisco Franco in Spain. He quickly established the respected Festival Casals for classical music, which became a principal force in the subsequent flowering of the arts on the island. If you loved the man, you'll love the museum.
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Museo de las Américas
Museo de las Américas is on the second floor of the three-storey Cuartel de Ballajá & Museo de las Américas (M005B), built in 1854 as a military barracks. The museum gives an overview of cultural development in the New World.
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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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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 of 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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Museo del Niño
The pink and green building that sits on the edge of a small, shady park houses the Museo del Niño. 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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Museo Felisa Rincón de Gautier
This Museo Felisa Rincón de Gautier 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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Showing 1-18 of 18 results
