Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of

Río Piedras Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico:

Urban landscape

Its name means "king's cattle farm" ('' hato''). In the 18th century, cattle would roam among the sugar cane fields in the area. Its proximity to residential areas such as San Juan,

, Miramar made it a perfect location from where to produce what its residents would eat. The area also used to be known as ''Las Monjas'' (the nuns) due to a convent that used to be located in the area in the 19th century. The Northern portion of Hato Rey is a startling contrast between blight and poverty and '' La Milla de Oro'' (The Golden Mile), a stretch that effectively covers only one mile but that is home to the headquarters of many large local and international banks. It is one of the most important centers of

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and the Caribbean's economy and many upper middle class condominiums are also located here. Hato Rey is also home to a series of boutiques and restaurants (mostly along

Roosevelt Avenue Roosevelt Avenue and Greenpoint Avenue are main thoroughfares in the New York City boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn. Roosevelt Avenue begins at 48th Street and Queens Boulevard in the neighborhood of Sunnyside. West of Queens Boulevard, the ro ...

). The

José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum The Coliseo de Puerto Rico José Miguel Agrelot (English: ''José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum of Puerto Rico'') is the biggest indoor arena in Puerto Rico dedicated to entertainment. It is located at the Golden Mile of San Juan, the island capital ...

and the ''

Tren Urbano The ''Tren Urbano'' (English: Urban Train) is a fully-automated rapid transit system that serves the municipalities of San Juan, Guaynabo, and Bayamón, in Puerto Rico. The Tren Urbano consists of 16 stations operating on of track along a ...

'' metro system have also reshaped Hato Rey by bringing people and business into the area after work hours. The metro system is also helping to ease traffic woes in the area by decongesting the roads.

Phi Sigma Alpha Phi Sigma Alpha (), commonly known as La Sigma, is a Puerto Rican fraternities and sororities, Puerto Rican fraternity originally established as the Sigma Delta Alpha Fraternity (Sociedad de Amigos) on October 22, 1928, at the University of Puert ...

fraternity's main headquarters are located in Mexico Street in Hato Rey. The Hato Rey

Lions Club The International Association of Lions Clubs, more commonly known as Lions Clubs International, is an international non-political service organization established originally in 1916 in Chicago, Illinois, by Melvin Jones. It is now headquartere ...

, founded in 1955, is located in Alhambra Street, across from the Polytechnic University. Because of its location, many commuters travelling to

Old San Juan Old San Juan ( es, Viejo San Juan) is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the islet of San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Catedral, Marina, Mercado, San Cristóbal, and San Francisco sub-barrios (s ...

must drive through Hato Rey. File:Milla-de-oro-min-2.jpg, File:Coliseo de Puerto Rico.jpg,

File:Roosevelt Station of the Tren Urbano (2).jpg, Tren Urbano Roosevelt station

Economy

Important buildings in Hato Rey include the Banco Popular headquarters, which in 1965 was the tallest building in Hato Rey.

Plaza Las Américas Plaza Las Américas is a shopping mall in Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico, located at the intersection of Routes 18 and 22. "''Plaza''", as it is known to many Puerto Ricans, was the first indoor shopping mall built in Puerto Rico. It is the ...

, a large mall is located in Hato Rey, and the

Roberto Clemente Coliseum Roberto Clemente Coliseum ( Spanish: ''Coliseo Roberto Clemente'') is a sports and concert arena located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was, for many years, Puerto Rico's largest indoor event facility, and remains one of the largest. General info ...

. Puerto Rico's

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

headquarters are also located in Hato Rey. Because of the area's closeness to the airport, major

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

, such as

Avianca Avianca S.A. ( acronym in Spanish for ''Aerovias del Continente Americano S.A.'', "Airways of the American Continent") is a Colombian airline. It has been the flag carrier of Colombia since December 5, 1919, when it was initially registered und ...

, have offices in Hato Rey.

Compaq Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to a 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced ...

at one point operated its Puerto Rico offices in Hato Rey.

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Office Building, a U.S. Federal Courthouse, and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI) San Juan field office are in Hato Rey. The

Puerto Rico Department of Education The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of the statewide public education system in the United States, with (Hawaii being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency in charge of managing public schools in Puerto Rico as ...

is headquartered in Hato Rey.Home page

Department of Education of Puerto Rico The Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDOE; ) is one of the statewide public education system in the United States, with (Hawaii being the other). The PRDOE is the state education agency in charge of managing public schools in Puerto Rico as ...

. Retrieved on May 6, 2017. "Dirección Física: Ave. Tnte. César González, esq. Calle Juan Calaf, Urb. Industrial Tres Monjitas, Hato Rey, P.R. 00917" File:Hato Rey Norte Barrio.jpg,

Hato Rey Norte Hato Rey Norte is one of the 18 barrios of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Hato Rey Norte was part of the former municipality of Rio Piedras, before it was merged with the municipality of San Juan in 1951. It is bounded by Hato Rey ...

File:Hato Rey Central Barrio.jpg,

Hato Rey Central Hato Rey Central is one of the 18 barrios of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. With a population density of 16,155.3 per square mile. It has a land area of 1.03 sq mi and a 2010 Census population of 16,640. Hato Rey Central was a ba ...

File:Hato Rey Sur Barrio-1.jpg, Hato Rey Sur

References

External links

* {{San Juan, Puerto Rico Río Piedras, Puerto Rico