San Juan, PR

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-most populous city under the jurisdiction of the United States, with a population of 342,259. San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521, who called it Ciudad de Puerto Rico (Spanish for "Rich Port City").

Puerto Rico's capital is the second oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, after Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic, founded in 1496, and is the oldest European-established city under United States sovereignty. Several historical buildings are located in the historic district of Old San Juan; among the most notable are the city's former defensive walls, Fort San Felipe del Morro and Fort San Cristóbal, and La Fortaleza, the oldest executive mansion in continuous use in the Americas. These historic sites were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Today, San Juan is Puerto Rico's most important seaport and is one of the island's most notable financial, cultural, and tourism centers. The population of the metropolitan statistical area, including San Juan and the municipalities of Bayamón, Guaynabo, Cataño, Canóvanas, Caguas, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Carolina and Trujillo Alto, is about 2.443 million inhabitants; thus, about 76% of the population of Puerto Rico now lives and works in this area. San Juan is also a principal city of the San Juan-Caguas-Fajardo Combined Statistical Area. The city has been the host of events within the sports community, including the 1979 Pan American Games; 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games; events of the 2006, 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics; the Caribbean Series and the Special Olympics and MLB San Juan Series in 2010.

History

Pre-Columbian era

The Taíno people were the original inhabitants of the area before the arrival of the Europeans to the island of Puerto Rico in 1493. Remains of a small indigenous fishing village have been found in Puerta de Tierra where the Puerto Rico National Guard Museum stands today, however most archaeological sites in the region have been destroyed and lost throughout the colonial history. The area of San Juan used to be the boundary between the tribal regions (yucayeques) of ''Guaynabo'' and ''Haimanio'', led by the chiefs (caciques) Mabo and Yuisa (also known as Loaíza), respectively, at the time of the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors.

Founding

In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the original settlement which he called Caparra. It was named after a former Roman city in the province of Cáceres in Spain, the birthplace of Nicolás de Ovando, then the Governor of Spain's Caribbean territories. Today, it is part of the Pueblo Viejo district of Guaynabo, directly to the west of the modern municipality of San Juan. A year later, the settlement was moved to a site then called Puerto Rico, Spanish for "rich port" or "good port", after its similar geographical features to the town of Puerto Rico de Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands.

The local Catholic diocese, the second oldest in the Americas and the oldest in the United States, was founded in the newly built settlement on August 8 of 1511. In 1521, the newer settlement was given its formal name: ''Ciudad de Puerto Rico de San Juan Bautista''. Many of the oldest European-founded institutions in the Western Hemisphere, such as the Santo Tomás de Aquino Convent and the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción Hospital, were established during this time in San Juan.

The ambiguous use of ''San Juan Bautista'' and ''Puerto Rico'' for both the city and the island in time led to a reversal in practical use by most inhabitants: by 1746 the name for the city (Puerto Rico) had become that of the entire island, leading to the city being identified as ''Puerto Rico de Puerto Rico'' on maps of the era.

Spanish Colonial era

San Juan, as a settlement of the Spanish Empire, was used by merchant and military ships traveling from Spain as the first stopover in the Americas. Because of its prominence in the Caribbean, a network of fortifications was built to protect the transports of gold and silver from the New World to Europe. Because of the rich cargoes, San Juan became a target of the foreign powers of the time.

San Juan underwent attacks from the English led by Sir Francis Drake in 1595 (in what is known as the Battle of San Juan) and by George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, in 1598. Artillery from San Juan's fort, El Morro, repelled Drake; however, Clifford managed to land troops and lay siege to the city. After a few months of English occupation, Clifford was forced to abandon the siege when his troops began to suffer from exhaustion and sickness. In 1625 the city was sacked by Dutch forces led by Captain Balduino Enrico (also known as Boudewijn Hendricksz/Bowdoin Henrick), but El Morro withstood the assault and was not taken. The Dutch were counterattacked by Captain Juan de Amézqueta and 50 members of the civilian militia on land and by the cannons of the Spanish troops in El Morro castle. The land battle left 60 Dutch soldiers dead and Enrico with a sword wound to his neck which he received from the hands of Amézqueta.

The Dutch ships at sea were boarded by Puerto Ricans who defeated those aboard. After a long battle, the Spanish soldiers and volunteers of the city's militia were able to defend the city from the attack and save the island from an invasion. On October 21, Enrico set La Fortaleza and the city ablaze. Captains Amézqueta and Andrés Botello decided to put a stop to the destruction and led 200 men in an attack against the enemy's front and rear guard. They drove Enrico and his men from their trenches and into the ocean in their haste to reach their ships.The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation / Middeldyk, R.A. Van Identifier: etext12272 The History of Puerto Rico From the Spanish Discovery to the American Occupation

The British attack in 1797, during the French Revolutionary Wars, led by Sir Ralph Abercromby (who had just conquered Trinidad). His army laid siege to the city but was forced to withdraw in defeat as the Puerto Rican defenses proved more resilient than those of Trinidad. Various events and circumstances, including liberalized commerce with Spain, the opening of the island to immigrants as a direct result of the Royal Decree of Graces of 1815, and the colonial revolutions, led to an expansion of San Juan and other Puerto Rican settlements in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Spanish-American War

On May 8, 1898, United States Navy ships, among them , , , , and , commanded by Rear Admiral William T. Sampson arrived at San Juan Bay. captured the Spanish freighter ''Rita'' in San Juan Bay, thus being the first hostile encounter between the warring sides in Puerto Rico. On May 9, ''Yale'' fought a brief battle with an auxiliary cruiser of Spain, name unknown, resulting in a Spanish victory. Around this time, Captain Ángel Rivero Méndez was assigned the command of the Spanish forces in the fortress of San Cristóbal in San Juan. On May 10, ''Yale'' returned to San Juan Bay, Rivero-Méndez ordered his men to open fire upon ''Yale'' using an Ordoñez 15-centimeter cannon, thus becoming the first attack against the Americans in Puerto Rico during the Spanish–American War.

For his actions, Captain Rivero-Méndez was awarded the "Cruz de la Orden de Mérito Militar" (The Cross of the Order of the Military Merit) first class. The residents of San Juan were furious with Rivero and blamed him for the destruction caused to their city by the American bombardments. Nothing came of those accusations and Capt. Rivero-Méndez was ordered to turn over the keys of all the military installations in San Juan to Captain Henry A. Reed of the U.S. Army after the Treaty of Paris of 1898 was signed.

On July 25, General Nelson A. Miles landed at Guánica (in southwestern Puerto Rico) with 3,300 soldiers in what was known as the Puerto Rican Campaign. The American troops found some resistance and engaged the Spanish and Puerto Rican troops in battle, the most notable of these the battles of Yauco and Asomante. All military actions in Puerto Rico were suspended August 13, 1898, after President William McKinley and French Ambassador Jules Cambon, acting on behalf of the Spanish government, signed an armistice. Spain ceded the island to the United States later the same year by signing the Treaty of Paris.

20th-century

Camp Las Casas, located in the district of Santurce, served as the main training camp for the Puerto Rican soldiers prior to World War I and World War II; the majority of the men trained in this facility were assigned to the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry" which was renamed the 65th Infantry Regiment of the United States Army by the Reorganization Act of June 4, 1920. The 65th Infantry was deactivated in 1956 and became the only unit ever to be transferred from an active Army component to the Puerto Rico National Guard.

Lieutenant Teófilo Marxuach (retired as a Lieutenant Colonel), a native of Arroyo, Puerto Rico, fired what is considered to be the first shot of World War I fired by the regular armed forces of the United States against any ship flying the colors of the Central Powers."US Naval Institute Proceedings"; "A Breach of Neutrality"; by: Lt. Isaiah Olch, US Navy; Vol. 62; July - December 1936 Marxuach, who was a member of the "Porto Rico Regiment of Infantry" and Officer of the Day, on March 25, 1915, opened fire on the ''Odenwald'', an armed German supply vessel, when it was trying to force its way out of San Juan's bay. The shots ordered by Lt. Marxuach were the first fired by the United States in World War I.

In 1919, Félix Rigau Carrera, "El Aguila de Sabana Grande" (The Eagle from Sabana Grande), the first Puerto Rican pilot, became the first native Puerto Rican to fly an aircraft in the island when he flew his Curtiss JN-4 from Las Casas. At the time, the area was used by the military as an air base and it was also Puerto Rico's first commercial airport, and Rigau Carrera was allowed to perform his historic flight from the airfield."El Mundo"; "Fallece El Aguila - Fue Primer Boricua Manejo Avion en la Isla" (Spanish); by: Malen Rojas Daporte; October 20, 1954; Number 13,448 Camp Las Casas was eventually closed down, and in 1950 a public housing project by the name of Residencial Fray Bartolome de Las Casas was constructed on its former location.

On January 2, 1947, the people of San Juan elected Felisa Rincón de Gautier (also known as Doña Fela) (1897–1994) as their mayor. Thus, she became the first woman to be elected as the mayor of a capital city in any of the Americas. During the Cold War era, she ordered the establishment of the island's first Civil Defense system under the directorship of Colonel Gilberto José Marxuach (Teófilo's son). Rincón de Gautier served as mayor until January 2, 1969.
On October 30, 1950, San Juan was the scene of the San Juan Uprising, one of many uprisings which occurred in various towns and cities in Puerto Rico, by the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party against the governments of Puerto Rico and the United States. Among the uprising's main objective was to attack La Fortaleza and the United States Federal Court House Building in Old San Juan. The "La Fortaleza battle", which ensued between the nationalists and the police lasted 15 minutes and ended when four of the five attackers were killed.''El ataque Nacionalista a La Fortaleza''; by Pedro Aponte Vázquez; Page 2; Publisher: Publicaciones RENÉ;

21st-century

San Juan has experienced periods of both stagnation and development in the recent years. Gentrification has been noticeable in areas of the city such as Loíza Street in Santurce and Santa Rita in Río Piedras. In recent years the city has been the location of multiple strikes and protests, such as the 2001 protests against the United States Navy in the island municipality of Vieques, the 2010 and 2011 University of Puerto Rico strikes, and the 2019 protests against Governor Ricardo Rosselló which resulted in his resignation.

On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made a direct impact in Puerto Rico, causing widespread damage and a collapse of the infrastructure in San Juan and the rest of Puerto Rico. The damage caused in 2017 was extensive, affecting the electricity, potable water supplies, transportation, and communication, but significant progress had been made in the capital by April 2019, and particularly by October 2019. This was significant for tourism, which had rebounded by October of that year and was close to the pre-Maria era.

San Juan today remains an important cultural, financial and industrial center not only of Puerto Rico but of the Caribbean region. As the biggest industrial center of Puerto Rico, it is the home of industries such as tobacco processors, breweries, refining facilities for petroleum and sugar, and distillers of rum as well as manufacturers of metal products, cement, pharmaceuticals, and clothing. The Puerto Rico Convention Center, opened in 2005, is the largest of its kind in the Caribbean and one of the most advanced in the Americas.

Geography

San Juan is located along the north-eastern coast of Puerto Rico in the Northern Plains region. It lies south of the Atlantic Ocean; north of Caguas and Trujillo Alto; east of Guaynabo; and west of Carolina. The city occupies an area of , of which, (37.83%) is water. San Juan's main water bodies are San Juan Bay and two natural lagoons, the Condado and San José.

At almost 1,030 feet (314 m) above sea level, the highest point in the municipality of San Juan is located on an unnamed hill on the ''Morcelo'' sector of Caimito, close to the municipal border with Caguas.

The municipality of San Juan is surrounded by the San Juan metropolitan area, particularly the highly urbanized municipalities of Guaynabo, Trujillo Alto and Carolina. These municipalities, together with Bayamón and Cataño, form what is locally referred to as the ''Área Metro'', the core of the wider San Juan metropolitan area. In total 41 municipalities are included in the entire metropolitan area extends throughout the island's northern coast and central eastern regions.www.whitehouse.gov
Office of Management and Budget I The White House - Puerto Rico Metropolitan Statistical Area - Code 41980 - ''Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas as of 2013 Census Bureau''. Retrieved 2015-11-09.

Climate

San Juan has a tropical monsoon climate ( Am) with year-round growing season. It has an average temperature of . Temperatures of or higher are seen on an average 79 days annually, more commonly occurring during the wetter months of the northern summer, especially if the winds come from the south.

In the winter, temperatures can drop to around . The average winter low is . The coolest temperature officially recorded was on March 3, 1957, and the hottest was on October 9, 1981. The record cold daily maximum is on February 4, 1935. The record warm daily minimum is on August 11, 1995, the most recent of four occasions.

With a mean minimum of 67 °F (19 C), San Juan is in USDA plant hardiness zone 13B, which is the highest category. Rainfall is well-distributed throughout the year. The months of January, February, and March are the driest. As March averages just of rain, the city falls under the tropical monsoon category.

Rainfall averages , falling on an average 198.5 days per year. Despite this dampness, the city averages 2,970 hours of sunshine per year, or just over of the possible total. Annual rainfall has historically ranged from in 1991 to in 2010.

As with other parts of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, San Juan is often blanketed by waves of Saharan dust coming from the Sahara across the Atlantic Ocean in Northern Africa. Although beneficial to the tropical environment, these dust storms have recently become hazardous to human health causing haze and overheating in urban areas of the island. Due to San Juan's relatively flat geography, the dust often settles in these flat coastal regions of Puerto Rico as its flow is blocked by the higher altitude Cordillera Central to the south, causing intense episodes of haze to settle for long periods of time, especially during periods of more scarce rainfall. Recent advancements include early warning systems to prepare the population for these intense episodes by both local authorities and the EPA.

Hurricane Maria

Hurricane Maria made landfall in southeastern Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. Gusts of up to 113 mph (182 km/h) were reported in the capital city shortly before landfall in the municipality of Yabucoa. The municipality of San Juan experienced widespread flooding in most coastal areas, and roofs were blown off from numerous structures. The neighborhood of La Perla was largely destroyed. In the wider metropolitan area, flooding from Lake La Plata produced flash floods that trapped residents of Toa Baja, and in Cataño the Juana Matos neighborhood was estimated to be 80% destroyed. At least eight people died from the flooding, while many were unaccounted for.

Beaches

San Juan is home to numerous beaches, all of which are open to the public. All beaches of San Juan face the Atlantic Ocean. The Islet of San Juan hosts Los Cables Beach and La Perla Beach next to the Old San Juan district of La Perla, the Capitolio Beach located immediately north of the Puerto Rico Capitol, Puerta de Tierra Beach along the ''Paseo de Puerta de Tierra'', and El Escambrón Beach at the northeastern edge of the islet. The latter is the most popular beach in the islet due to its shore being protected from the strong Atlantic Ocean waves by reefs that serve as natural breakwaters. From east to west, the beaches in Santurce include Ocean Park Beach (also known as Último Trolley Beach), Condado Beach and Playita del Condado. Ocean Park Beach and El Condado Beach are the largest in the city and they host a large number of hotels and businesses that cater to tourists and beachgoers.

Beach erosion

As with other beaches across Puerto Rico and the Caribbean, the beaches of San Juan are currently under the threat of coastal erosion, particularly that of Ocean Park. The threat has become more evident recently and there are currently no state reports dedicated to the documentation or mitigation planning, according to oceanographer and geologist Maritza Barreto.

Parks

The municipality of San Juan contains numerous parks, including public parks, historic and heritage parks, nature reserves, protected natural areas, and recreational parks. These parks are managed by a number of entities such as the Municipality, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, the National Park Service, the University of Puerto Rico and conservation easements.

San Juan Ecological Corridor

The San Juan Ecological Corridor is a conservation project by the Government of Puerto Rico consisting in 6 different units found within the municipality of San Juan: the Cupey Arboretum, which protects the riparian ecosystems along the Río Piedras; the Doña Inés Mendoza Urban Forest, a small urban forest located next to the Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation in Sabana Llana Sur; Los Capuchinos Forest, a forest which covers a small karst area also in Sabana Llana Sur; the New Millennium State Forest, one of the 20 state forests of Puerto Rico; the San Juan Waterworks, consisting of the Old Piedras River Aqueduct and adjacent historic district; and the University of Puerto Rico Botanical Garden, also known as the San Juan Botanical Garden.

Historical parks

The San Juan National Historic Site is home to El Morro Esplanade, a large open area located between El Morro and Ballajá in Old San Juan. The esplanade is located in the promontory which gives ''El Morro'' its name and it offers views of the San Juan Bay and the rest of San Juan. It is very popular for activities such as picnics, stargazing and kite flying.

The district of the Capitol of Puerto Rico is home to the Iglesias Pantín and Rafael Hernández Marín parks, and a line of monuments located along Constitución Avenue which includes the ''Walkway of the Presidents'', the Puerto Rico Police Memorial Monument and The Holocaust Memorial Monument. The ''Loma de los Vientos'', or ''Loma del Viento'' (Spanish for "hill of winds"), is a small open green area located northwest of the Capitol, next to Castle San Cristóbal, and it often hosts events such as the Epiphany celebrations.

Luis Muñoz Rivera Park is a 27.2 acre recreational and historic park located in Puerta de Tierra, between Luis Muñoz Rivera, Ponce de León and Constitución avenues. It is the largest public square in Puerto Rico, and it is home to several historic sites such as the Polvorín San Gerónimo de Boquerón, which used to supply gunpowder to the nearby Fortín de San Gerónimo. The park used to host a small zoo, and currently hosts gazebos, gardens, restaurants and access to the beach. The park has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since November 14, 2007.

The Polvorin de Miraflores is a historic district and park located next to the Puerto Rico Convention Center in Isla Grande, Santurce. The ammunition storage house dates to the mid-18th century and it is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Another historic district currently under revitalization is the San Juan Waterworks historic district which contains the Old Piedras River Aqueduct. There are plans to revitalize the old aqueduct structures and its surroundings to create a historic park open to visitors and researchers.

Municipal parks

Some of the recreational parks of the municipality include Bahía Urbana, a waterfront park located in Old San Juan and Puerta de Tierra by the San Juan Bay; the Paseo de Puerta de Tierra, a recreational walkway along the Atlantic Ocean cliffs of Puerta de Tierra that connects the Puerto Rico Capitol with El Escambrón Beach and Luis Muñoz Rivera Park.

Ventana al Mar, Laguna del Condado Jaime Benítez Park, Parque del Indio are some of the parks located in El Condado district of Santurce. Dr. José Celso Barbosa Park is located in Ocean Park, also in Santurce. Parque Central, also known as the San Juan Municipal Central Park, is a large park and recreational complex located in southern Santurce near the mouth of the Puerto Nuevo River and the Martín Peña Channel. The Enrique Martí Coll Linear Park connects the Central Park to Hato Rey through the Caño Martín Peña Nature Reserve.

Luis Muñoz Marín Park, La Merced Park, Dr. José N. Gándara Park, Santiago Iglesias Pantín Park are some of the parks located in Hato Rey. Luis Muñoz Marín Park is one of the largest in the municipality. It is located in the Gobernador Piñero district between Hato Rey and Puerto Nuevo. The park has gazebos that can be rented for events, green areas for strolls, biking and picnics, an artificial lake with paddleboats for rent ($6), and a number of playgrounds for children. Its main attraction is the cableway that crosses the park and offers scenic views of the Piedras River and the city while providing transportation to the Roberto Clemente Coliseum and the Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

Nature reserves

The municipality of San Juan is home to various important ecosystems and preserved natural areas. Some of the ecosystems of the San Juan Bay National Estuary, which is the only tropical estuary in the National Estuary Program network, are protected by numerous nature reserves and protected areas such as the Caño Martín Peña Nature Reserve. Other areas protected under the San Juan Bay National Estuary include El Condado Lagoon, the San José Lagoon and El Boquerón where the San Antonio Creek and the Condado Lagoon connect with the Atlantic Ocean.

Two of the 20 state forests of Puerto Rico are located in the municipality of San Juan: the New Millennium Urban Forest, which is also part of the San Juan Ecological Corridor, and the San Patricio Urban Forest, a secondary forest located next to a mogote. The Hermanas Sendra and San Juan Park Protected Natural Areas are located inland within the municipality of San Juan in the barrios of Caimito and Cupey.

Cityscape

Architecture

The architecture of San Juan is very diverse, due to its size and all the cultural influences received during its existence. The oldest part of the city, known as Old San Juan, mostly features the influence of Spanish architecture. This part of the city is comprised by a network of "setted" roads usually surrounded by colonial, two-storied houses built on masonry. Some colonial structures have been restored and serve either as government offices or museums. Some examples are the Ballajá Barracks, which now serve as museum and headquarters of several cultural organizations; La Fortaleza, which has served as the residence of the Governor of Puerto Rico since the 16th Century; and the Ancient Welfare Asylum, which now houses the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, among others. Old San Juan also features several public squares, like the Plaza de Armas, located in front of San Juan City Hall; and cathedrals, like the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista. Old San Juan is also notable for being partly enclosed by massive walls and fortifications built by the Spanish government. The colonial Walls of the city of San Juan had five gates. The main was the Puerta de San Juan, today preserved, built in 1635. It also had the Puerta de San José, the Puerta de Santa Rosa, the Puerta de San Justo and the Puerta de Santiago, the latter built between 1635 and 1641 by Spanish Captain General Íñigo de la Mota Sarmiento.

The architecture is more varied in other districts of the city, and the different Spanish, American and Puerto Rican construction styles that reflect the historic architecture trends are most evident in the districts of Puerta de Tierra, Santurce, Hato Rey and downtown Río Piedras, with Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco, and Mid-Century Modern being the most popular styles. Many of the buildings that best exemplify these architectural trends in San Juan are also inscribed in the United States National Register of Historic Places (NRHP), such as the Nuestra Señora de Lourdes Chapel (Gothic Revival, 1907), the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico ( Beaux-Arts, 1917), and the Normandie Hotel (Art Deco, 1942), and the Puerto Rico Supreme Court Building (Modern, 1955). and The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus is also home to a rich variety of buildings that showcase the history of Puerto Rican architecture throughout the past 120 years, with buildings designed by notable architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright's student Henry Klumb, Edward H. Bennett