Villa Julita, also known as Casa Ulrich, is a private building in Aibonito, Puerto Rico which is on 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 ...

and on the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones. Currently in good condition and located at its original site, it was designed by architect

Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti was a Puerto Rican architect from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was an expositor of the Neoclassicism and Art Nouveau architectural styles, doing most of his work in his hometown of Ponce. Today, Alfredo Wiechers' city reside ...

and built by Salvador Lando, in 1915, for the Vendrell-Suárez family. The architect who was a native of Ponce, had studied in Paris, and won a gold medal for his achievements in 1905. He graduated in 1905 and worked in Barcelona with Eric Sangier until 1911. Villa Julita is a mansion built of wood with some of its facade in concrete: the

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

, the

stairway Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

and the

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its con ...

. These elements give it a neoclassical look to what is a Creole style structure, following in the tradition of haciendas and summer houses of the time. In 1917, the residence was sold to the Wirshing Serrallés family. In 1950, the Ulrich Foundation allowed it to host conscientious objectors of the wars of Korea and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. The Mennonite Foundation bought the property in 1972 and used this land to carry out instruction and guidance to farmers. The Mennonites are responsible for introducing modern methods for the mass production of fruits and plants, as well as artificial insemination techniques for livestock. Photograph taken from . Harry Nussbaum and Linda Ulrich, the current owners purchased it in 1974 and spent four years restoring it. It is now a children's preschool. Villa Julita maintains its elegance and serves as a testimony to a time when Aibonito was a favorite summer holiday for well-to-do families.

References

Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Beaux-Arts architecture in Puerto Rico Houses completed in 1915 1915 establishments in Puerto Rico Aibonito, Puerto Rico Ponce Creole architecture {{PuertoRico-NRHP-stub