Plaza Colón is the main

plaza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

in the city of Mayagüez,

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 ...

. This plaza and its fountain commemorate the explorer

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

, whose name in

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 ...

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. The plaza is paved in marble is graced by a group of lampposts in bronze that date over more than one hundred years. Each lamp is held by an oriental

odalisque An odalisque (, tr, odalık) was a chambermaid or a female attendant in a Turkish seraglio, particularly the court ladies in the household of the Ottoman sultan. In western usage, the term came to mean the harem concubine, and refers to the ...

, including characteristic clothes, turbans, and veils. The plaza was designed after the Great Fire of 1841, approximately in 1842; years later, after being paved the plaza had a fountain in the center. The plaza has been remodeled several times including when Benjamin Cole was mayor and under the current mayor

José Guillermo Rodríguez José Guillermo Rodríguez Rodríguez is a Puerto Rican politician who served as the Mayor of the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico for 27 years until March 31, 2022 when he was suspended by the Special Independent Prosecutor Panel. He was born in ...

Statues

Following the theory that Columbus disembarked in Mayagüez; in 1896 a statue of the Admiral was placed in the main plaza in the city, thus it came to be known as Plaza Colón. The statue was made by A. Coll y Pí in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

in 1843."Genealogias Biografias e Historia del Mayagüez de Ayer y Hoy y Antologia de Puerto Rico"; by Martin Gaudier (Author); Page: 17; Publisher: Imprenta "El Aguila", San German (1959); Language: Spanish In 1944 a monument to the city founders was constructed in the plaza. In 1944 Regino Cabassa made great efforts to get the creation of a Monuments to the founders of the city in the Plaza Colon. At first there were some obstacles especially since the monument was to be built of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

and because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

that metal was hard to come by. But finally on November 19, 1944 the monument was unveiled before Mayor Don Manuel A. Barreto."Historia de Mayagüez 1760-1960"; by Subcomite de la Historia de Mayaüez (Author); Page: 228-230; Publisher: Talleres Graficos Interamericanos (1960); Language: Spanish

Gallery

File:Estatua en Plaza Colón, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.jpg

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaza Colon Squares in Puerto Rico National Register of Historic Places in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico 1760 establishments in New Spain