|
|
|
San Juan National Historic Site
NPS Photograph |
An island on the periphery of the "New World" empire, Puerto Rico served
as a Spanish fortress designed to protect Spain's American holdings. San
Juan National Historic Site, administered by the National Park Service,
includes forts, bastions, powder houses, wall and El Cañuelo Fort,
also called San Juan de la Cruz–defensive fortifications that once surrounded
the old, colonial portion of San Juan, Puerto Rico. El Cañuelo
Fort is located at El Cañuelo Island at the western end of the
entrance to San Juan Bay. Sections of the massive sandstone walls, dating
to the 1630s, remain; so, too, do the San Cristóboal and San Felipe
del Morro forts. San Juan had the first municipal government in the "New
World," outside Santo Domingo, as well as the first military presidio
in Spanish America. By the 19th century, the old city had become a charming
residential and commercial district. The city itself, with its institutional
buildings, museums, houses, churches, plazas, and commercial buildings,
is part of the San Juan Historic Zone which is administered by municipal,
State and Federal agencies. In addition to being protected and administered
by the National Park Service, the United Nations in 1983 designated San
Juan National Historic Site as a World Cultural Heritage Site.
San Juan National Historic Site is also the subject
of a Teaching With Historic Places lesson
plan and featured in our Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
travel
itinerary.
Santa Barbara | St.
Augustine | San Juan National Historic Site
Hispanic Heritage Home | NR
HOME
| |
|