plaza colon in old san juan

Colon Plaza (Columbus Plaza) is located at the entrance to Old San Juan between Fortaleza Street/Ponce de Leon Avenue and San Francisco Street at O'Donnell Street. Note that Ponce de Leon Avenue changes names to be Fortaleza Street at Colon Plaza, so it can be a little confusing.Plaza Colón is the main plaza in the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer Christopher Columbus, whose name in Spanish was Cristóbal Colón. The plaza presents the traditional urban relationship in Puerto Rico with the church, now Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral on one end of the plaza and the "Alcaldia" or Mayagüez town hall in the other. Its location was designated in 1760 close to the city founding.

cathedral of Mayaguez

The first Church at the current site was made of wood and was built in 1763, only three years after the founding of the city. The land was donated by Don Juan de Aponte and Don Juan de Silva; deed dated 1760 in San Germán. The plot was consecrated on August 21, 1760, and the first masonry building erected in 1780.In 1854, a lightning-bolt struck and tore down a wedge-shaped corner of one of its right towers. The damaged tower was later rebuilt. Then in 1870, a full restoration of the building was performed

Fortin de san Geronimo

The small but interesting Fortín de San Gerónimo de Boquerón was built in 1609.  This made Old San Juan a much more accessible target should any ships want to attack. The fort later proved useful in defending the islet from the attacks of the British naval force in 1797 when approximately sixty ships came into the bay with nearly four thousand men. The Fort and with the brilliant strategy created by Governor Ramón de Castro allowed the men under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Don Teodmiro del Toro to resist the British naval force successfully.

Casa Blanca Museum

              Casa Blanca began as the home of Juan Ponce de Leon, the first governor under the Spanish King of Puerto Rico. Ponce de Leon never lived in nor even saw the house. He died in 1521before the house was completed. The Casa Blanca Museum is the oldest museum in Puerto Rico and it is considered one of the best museums. Juan Ponce de Leo started building this museum the same year he died and passed it on to his son Luis. Actually the real construction started in 1523. It was used as the residence of his dependents until the mid-18th century. The first building was made out of wooden structure but got replaced with stones because of the fire. The museum consists of various rooms all depicting carious aspects of life; bedrooms, living rooms and, a kitchen. 

http://www.discoveringpuertorico.com/casa-blanca-museum/

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Blanca_(San_Juan)

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral ; Ponce Cathedral

Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral

          This Cathedral has over a hundred or more years of history behind it. In 1670 this Cathedral started as a small chapel. Throughout the years this building has been destroyed by several earthquakes and fires. In 1931 to 1937, this new reconstruction was being designed by Francisco Porrata Doria. This Cathedral covers an area of 2,960 square meters (3,540 sq yd). This building has many stained glass windows and two bell towers. On December 12, the Cathedral hosts an annual event called "Las Mananitas" which is named after the Mexican birthday song. It is song during a religious procession in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This event started in 1965.  

museo de arte de ponce

Museo de Arte de Ponce
   Museo de Arte de Ponce is an art museum located on Las Americas ave. The thought of this museum began in 1956 when Luis A. Ferre traveled to Europe and brought various European art pieces. That encouraged him to start a project for a museum in the city of Ponce. On January 3, 1959, Luis opened the museum in a small wooden house originally with 72 paintings. For a fear of a fire happening in the small wooden museum, Luis brought a tract of land on Las Americas ave to build the current museum. It was finished building in 1965 and officially opened on December 8, 1965. This museum holds almost 4,000 pieces of art that range from the 14th to the 20th century, containing Italian,
British, Spanish, and contemporary Latin-American Art. 
The Last Sleep of Arthur in Avalon made by Edward 
Brune-Jones is one of the main pieces of art in 
that museums collection.