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Old San Juan

Coordinates: 18°27′58″N 66°07′09″W / 18.46611°N 66.11917°W / 18.46611; -66.11917
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Township of Old San Juan
UNESCO World Heritage Site

Aerial view of Old San Juan in 1952
CriteriaHistorical bilocation
Multicultural environment: vi
Reference266
Inscription1983 (7th Session)
Coordinates18°27′58″N 66°07′09″W / 18.46611°N 66.11917°W / 18.46611; -66.11917
Main article: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Old San Juan (Spanish: Viejo San Juan) is the oldest settlement within Puerto Rico and it is the historic colonial section of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Location

Old San Juan is located on a small and narrow island which lies in the north coast, about 35 miles (56 km) from the east end of Puerto Rico, and is united to the mainland of Puerto Rico by the three bridges. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and to the south by San Juan Bay or "Bahia of San Juan" which lies between the city and the mainland. On a bluff about 100 feet (30 m) high at the west end of the island and commanding the entrance to the harbor rise the battlements of Fort San Felipe del Morro, in which there is a lighthouse.

The "Caño de San Antonio" lies also in South Coast and extends to the Southeast where the island of Old San Juan connects to the mainland through Santurce by three bridges, "Puente Dos Hermanos" (Ave. Ashford), "Puente G. Esteves" (Ave. Ponce de León) and "Puente San Antonio" (Ave. Fernández Juncos).

The city is characterized by its narrow, blue cobblestone streets and flat-roofed brick and stone buildings dating back to the 16th and 17th century when Puerto Rico was a Spanish possession. Near Fort San Felipe del Morro is the Casa Blanca, a palace on land which belonged to the family of Ponce de Leon.

Art history

Spanish Inquisition

File:Old san juan uKy (9).png
Clara Lair Street (next to La Fortaleza)

The Spanish Inquisition of 1481 established by Ferdinand and Isabella (Spanish monarchs during Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World) initiates the emergence of bureaucratic supremacy and racial idiosyncrasy against Indian zodiacal mysticism, African cultural ancestry and Jewish spiritual beliefs. This ecclesiastical court order instigated the horrifying acts of genocide (colonization/conquest) all across America, the neutral attitude of Italy towards the outside world as portrayed through the cultural events of the Quattrocento (the artistic transition between the International Gothic period and the age of European Renaissance) and the sociopolitical upheaval of the French Revolution which successfully dissociated both men and women from an absolute monarchy of aristocrats who voted against the principles of enlightenment, democracy, individualism and citizenship.

Autorità Religiosa Burocratica

The Quattrocento manifestation lay at the forefront of what was to become the Italian Renaissance. Its international manifesto resembles a happening of cultural and artistic events during the 15th century which embraced the artistic styles of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance: a forefront collection of high-end individualism in the arts to promote the presence of a scientific, cultural, social and economic revolution in hope of preserving the Monarchy through Christianity.[1]

Spanish Settlement

In 1508, Juan Ponce de León founded the original settlement, Caparra[2] (named after the province Caceres, Spain, birthplace of the then-governor of Spain's Caribbean territories, Nicolas de Ovando). The ruins of Caparra are known as the Pueblo Viejo sector of Guaynabo, behind the almost land-locked harbor just to the west of the present San Juan metropolitan area. In 1509, the settlement was abandoned and moved to a site which was called at the time "Puerto Rico" (meaning "rich port" or "good port"), a name that evoked that of a similar geographical harbor in the island of Gran Canaria, Canary Islands. In 1521, the name "San Juan" was added, and the newer settlement was given its formal name of "San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico", following the usual custom of christening the town with both its formal name and the name which Christopher Columbus had originally given the island, honoring John the Baptist. Constructed in 1521, Casa Blanca served as the first fortification of the settlement and residence of Juan Ponce de Leon descendants, until the mid eighteenth century.[3][4][5]

French Revolution

File:Old san juan uKy (13).jpg
Cathedral of San Juan Bautista (2010)

The aim of the French Revolution (1789–1799) was not to destroy the sovereignty of religious faith (church) or create a state of permanent disorder (anarchy). It was essentially a movement for political and social reform to increase the power and jurisdiction of the central authority. The Revolution never intended to change the whole nature of our traditional civilization, arrest its progress or make any vital change in the principles basic to the structure of society in the Western World. The chief permanent achievement of the French Revolution was the suppression of those political institutions, commonly described as feudal, which for many centuries had held unquestioned sway in most European countries. The Revolution set out to replace them with a new social and political order, based on the concept of equality.[6]

The Civil War

File:Quigley Studio.jpg
William Quigley's Art Studio: North of Fortaleza Street

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a civil war between the United States of America (the "Union") and the Southern slave states of the newly-formed Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. The Union included all of the free states and the five slaveholding border states and was led by Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party. Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery into territories owned by the United States, and their victory in the presidential election of 1860 resulted in seven Southern states declaring their secession from the Union even before Lincoln took office.[7]

Undercurrent

World's Columbian Exposition

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Cosmopolitan Revival (2010)

The Chicago World's Fair (also called The Chicago Columbian Exposition) is a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus' discovery of the New World. Chicago bested New York City, Washington, D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri for the honor of hosting the fair. The fair had a profound effect on architecture, the arts, Chicago's self image and American industrial optimism. The exposition was designed by Daniel Burnham. In essence, it was the prototype of what Burnham and his colleagues thought a city should be. It was designed to follow Beaux arts principles of design: European Classical Architecture principles based on symmetry and balance.

Treaty of Paris

The Treaty of Paris, signed on December 10, 1898, ended the Spanish-American War. The Treaty of Paris provided that Cuba would become independent from Spain but US congress made sure it would be under US control with the Platt Amendment. Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over - and title to - Cuba. Upon Cuba's evacuation by Spain, it was to be occupied by the United States to assume and discharge any obligations that under international law could result from the fact of its occupation. The Treaty also assured that Spain would cede to the United States the island of Puerto Rico and other islands then under Spanish sovereignty in the West Indies, including Guam and the Philippines.

Contemporary

Old San Juan along with La Fortaleza were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1983.[8]

With its abundance of shops, historic places, museums, open air cafés, restaurants, gracious homes, tree-shaded plazas, and its old beauty and architectonical peculiarity, Old San Juan is a main spot for local and internal tourism. A free tourist trolley serves the city.

The slum neighborhood of La Perla outside of the historic city wall on the rocky north coast belongs to sub-barrios Mercado and San Cristóbal.

The district is also characterized by numerous public plazas and churches including San José Church and the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, which contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León. It also houses the most ancient Catholic school for Elementary education in Puerto Rico, the Colegio de Párvulos, built in 1865.

Old San Juan is one of the two barrios, in addition to Santurce, that made up the municipality of San Juan after 1864 and prior to 1951, in which the former independent municipality of Río Piedras was annexed.

Visualscapes

File:Old san juan uKy (10).png
Fort San Felipe del Morro (2010) in the background.

Blockhouses and sub-barrios

Sub-barrios of Old San Juan

The oldest parts of the district of Old San Juan remain partly enclosed by massive walls. Several defensive structures and notable forts, such as the emblematic Fort San Felipe del Morro, Fort San Cristóbal, and El Palacio de Santa Catalina, also known as La Fortaleza, acted as the primary defenses of the settlement which was subjected to numerous attacks. La Fortaleza continues to serve also as the executive mansion for the Governor of Puerto Rico. Many of the historic fortifications are part of San Juan National Historic Site.

Organic law

Law Five (5) D.A.C.O. (Ley Número 5 del 1973) also known as Ley Orgánica del Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (or the Organic Law) clearly states the strict prohibition of real estate false advertising in commercial spaces including but not limited to wallscapes, newspapers, magazines, digital media and visual promotional street marketing material: Articles 6A-6J-6K and 19.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Frederik Hartt. History of Italian Renaissance Art. New York: Abrams (1994)
  2. ^ "Guaynabo—Encyclopædia Britannica" (with history of Puerto Rico), Encyclopædia Britannica, 2006, Britannica.com webpage: EB-Guaynabo-Puerto-Rico: names: Caparra, the first Spanish settlement of Puerto Rico (1508).
  3. ^ Template:Es icon San Juan: Historia Illustrada de su desarrollo urbano, 1508-1898 - Aníbal Sepúlveda Rivera. San Juan 1989. Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR.
  4. ^ Template:Es icon San Juan Extramuros: Iconografia para su estudio - Aníbal Sepúlveda, Jorge Carbonell. San Juan 1990. Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR / Oficina Estatal de Preservación Histórica.
  5. ^ Template:En icon A Conservation Master Plan for The World Heritage Site of Old San Juan by Prof. Martin E. Weaver
  6. ^ Alexis de Tocqueville. The Old Regime and the French Revolution. New York: Anchor Books (1955) - Translated by Stuart Gilbert.
  7. ^ James McPherson, Drawn With the Sword, from the article Who Freed the Slaves?
  8. ^ "La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site in Puerto Rico". UNESCO.
  9. ^ DACO (2009-07-15). "Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor: Organic Law". Gobierno de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
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