The Baño de Oro Historic Site (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for golden bath) is a historic recreation center and swimming pool located in the Baño de Oro area of

El Yunque National Forest El Yunque National Forest ( es, Bosque Nacional El Yunque), formerly known as the Caribbean National Forest (or ''Bosque Nacional del Caribe''), is a forest located in northeastern Puerto Rico. It is the only tropical rainforest in the United Sta ...

Río Grande, Puerto Rico Río Grande () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located on the eastern edge of the Northern Coastal Valley, north of Las Piedras, Naguabo and Ceiba; east of Loíza and Canóvanas and west of Luquillo. Río Grande is spread over eigh ...

. The site of Baño de Oro gets its name from the Baño de Oro Creek, which itself is named after the former Spanish

gold panning Gold panning, or simply ''panning'', is a form of placer mining and traditional mining that extracts gold from a placer deposit using a pan. The process is one of the simplest ways to extract gold, and is popular with geology enthusiasts especi ...

sites in the area. The wider Baño de Oro Natural Area where the historic site is found was named a

National Natural Landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...

in 1980 and it is the only contiguous area in Puerto Rico that contains a subtropical wet forest, a

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

, a

dwarf forest Dwarf forest, elfin forest, or pygmy forest is an uncommon ecosystem featuring miniature trees, inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards. They are usually located at high elevations, under conditions of sufficient air humi ...

, and a ''

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' ...

'' forest.

''La Piscina Pequeña''

Baño de Oro, also known as ''La Piscina Pequeña'' (the small pool), is the smaller of the two historic swimming pools located in El Yunque, the other being the

Baño Grande Baño Grande (Spanish for big bath) is a former swimming pool and historic site located in El Yunque National Forest in Río Grande, Puerto Rico. It is also known as La Mina Pool (''Piscina de la Mina'' or just ''La Piscina''), after La Mina Rive ...

located nearby. Although no longer in use or operational, Baño de Oro is preserved as a historic site, and it was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on January 27, 2020, due to its importance as one of the

New Deal Era Constructions in the Forest Reserves in Puerto Rico New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

(1933–1942). The Baño de Oro swimming pool was the first recreation site built in El Yunque National Forest, then known as the Luquillo Forest Reserve (until 1935 when the national forest was proclaimed as the Caribbean National Forest). It was built by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

using stone masonry and it was refurbished later with reinforced concrete. The pool was operational from 1934 until the latter half of the 1960s when it was closed due to safety reasons. It remained closed and abandoned until 2019 when the ruined recreational area was revitalized as a watershed garden.

Gallery

File:Banodeoro USDA forest service el yunque.jpg, Trail in the Baño de Oro site File:Rain Forest of El Yunque, Puerto Rico.jpg, Endemic vegetation in the Baño de Oro Natural Area File:Invader next to Mister Beast.JPG,

Invader ''InVader'' is the fourth album by Finnish glam metal band Reckless Love, released on 4 March 2016 through Spinefarm Records. Track listing All songs written by Olli Herman, Pepe Reckless, and Ikka Wirtanen, unless otherwise noted. Reception Wr ...

-like urban art

References

External links

Baño de Oro
{{PuertoRico-NRHP-stub Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Spanish Revival architecture in Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Puerto Rico 1934 establishments in Puerto Rico Río Grande, Puerto Rico Civilian Conservation Corps in Puerto Rico El Yunque National Forest Park buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places Swimming venues American Craftsman architecture in Puerto Rico