Martín Peña Bridge, in Spanish properly known as Puente Martín Peña, is an

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style bridge from 1939, designed by Cecilio Delgado and others. It crosses the

Martín Peña Channel The Martín Peña Channel (Spanish: ''Caño de Martín Peña'') is a body of water in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The similarly named Martín Peña (Hato Rey), Martín Peña is a neighbourhood, with informal housing, adjacent to the channel. The cha ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the jur ...

. It was listed on the U.S.

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 ...

in 2008.

History

The original Martín Peña Bridge was simply a stone causeway probably built around the mid-1500s. Later, a wooden bridge was built on top of the causeway, which was in turn replaced by a brick edification in 1784. This bridge, designed by Juan Francisco Mestre, was destroyed by the British during

Ralph Abercromby Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercromby (7 October 173428 March 1801) was a British people, British soldier and politician. He rose to the rank of lieutenant-general in the British Army, was appointed Gov ...

's invasion of Puerto Rico. After this, the bridge was rebuilt in 1846 with a design by engineer Santiago Cortijo. This new bridge measured 220 feet long and 6 meters wide, and was composed of nine elliptical arches. According to a book by Luis Pumarada and Maria de los Angeles Castro, the name of Martín Peña comes from a fisherman who operated a cove near the area.

Gallery

San Juan - Puente de Martin Peña (1906).jpg, Bridge in 1906 Puente de Martín Peña (1939).jpg, Bridge in 2012

References

Bridges completed in 1939 National Register of Historic Places in San Juan, Puerto Rico Art Deco architecture in Puerto Rico Transportation in San Juan, Puerto Rico Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico 1939 establishments in Puerto Rico {{PuertoRico-struct-stub