Plaza Muñoz Rivera

Plaza Muñoz Rivera

Plaza Muñoz Rivera in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Type Municipal Plaza and Urban park
Location Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°00′42″N 66°36′52″W / 18.01167°N 66.61444°W / 18.01167; -66.61444
Area 1.1 acres (0.45 ha)
Created 1670[1]
Operated by Autonomous Municipality of Ponce
Visitors over 200,000[2]
Status Opened all year, 24 hours/day

Plaza Muñoz Rivera, formally Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera, is the smaller of the two plazas (city squares) at Plaza Las Delicias in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico and is located on the north side of Las Delicias. The square is notable for its fountains and for the statue of Luis Muñoz Rivera. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located immediately to the south the Plaza Muñoz Rivera. The square is at the center of the Ponce Historic Zone, and it is next to the Armstrong-Poventud Residence to the west, and the Teatro Fox Delicias to the north. The square dates back to the early Spanish settlement in Ponce of 1670. It is the main tourist attraction of the city, receiving about a quarter of a million visitors per year.[3]

History

Statue of Luis Munoz Rivera is the centerpiece of Plaza Muñoz Rivera

The history of the plaza dates back to as far as the creation of the first Catholic chapel in Ponce in 1670.[4] It is also known that around 1840 Mayor Salvador de Vives planted trees as a renovation project for the plaza.[5] It was first lit in 1864.[6] According to the traditional Spanish colonial custom, a town's main square, or plaza, was the center of the town. In the case of Ponce, a Catholic church was built on the center of the plaza, thus splitting the plaza into two sections: Plaza Muñoz Rivera to the north and Plaza Degetau to the south.[7] The Plaza Las Delicias square is, thus, actually made up of two plazas. The north section of the square is named Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera (Luis Muñoz Rivera square), while the south section is called Plaza Federico Degetau (Federico Degetau square). Plaza Las Delicias measures a little less than half of 8,800 square meters.[8]

Diagram of Plaza Las Delicias. The upper (north/red) section is the Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera while the lower (south/blue) section is the Plaza Federico Degetau.

Legend:
1. Cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe
2. Parque de Bombas
3. Lions Fountain
4. Statue of Luis Muñoz Rivera
5. Statue of Juan Morel Campos
6. Statue of Domingo Cruz "Cocolia"
7. Obelisk to "El Polvorin" Firemen
8. Statue of Blind Justice
9. Statue of woman with children, "Añoranzas"
10 & 11. Large Fountains

Name

Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera is situated to the north of the Ponce Cathedral and was originally known as Paseo de La Alameda or, simply, Alameda,[9] but today it is named after the famed Puerto Rican statesman Luis Muñoz Rivera. It is so named to honor the prominent poet, journalist, and politician by that name born in Barranquitas and whose statue stands prominently in the center of this plaza. The statue is the product of the foundry of Italian sculptor Luiggi Tomassi[10] in Pietrasanta, Italy.[11] The Muñoz Rivera statue is made in bronze and was unveiled in 1923. Luis Yordán Dávila, mayor of Ponce at the time, was one of the main proponents of the monument.[12] In addition to the statue of Munoz Rivera, this section of Plaza Las Delicias also has two fountains.

Location

Plaza Muñoz Rivera is bounded on the north by Plaza Muñoz Rivera street (also called Reina street and Isabel street), on the west by Union street, on the east by Atocha street, and on the south by the Ponce Cathedral and Parque de Bombas. Two hotels, various banks, several boutiques, and the old 3-story Forenza building (now home to the Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture) surround this plaza. It is surrounded by hotels, banks, the Casa Armstrong-Poventud, the Teatro Fox Delicias, and various boutiques and cafes.[13]

Setting

The Plaza has wide mosaic-tile sidewalks, well-manicured flower gardens, well-trimmed bushes and Indian laurel trees, late 1800s lampposts, and numerous marble benches.[14] The fountain is made of marble and bronze.

It is surrounded by a multitude of other historic sites such as Paseo Atocha and the Casa Saurí (now Ponce Ramada Hotel), among others. During the day, the plaza hustles with schoolchildren, shoppers, and tourists. After the sun sets, there are often live bands giving concerts to "multigenerational families."[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Caminata Guiada: Centro Historico de Ponce
  2. ↑ Based on the documented number of visitors at the nearby Serralles Castle (See).
  3. ↑ Based on the documented number of visitors at the nearby Serralles Castle (See).
  4. ↑ Doris Vazquez. Spain in Puerto Rico: Early Settlements. The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. 1986. Retrieved November 22, 2009.
  5. ↑ By Guillermo A. Baralt. Buena Vista: life and work on a Puerto Rican hacienda, 1833-1904. Page 12.
  6. ↑ Salsa, sabor y control!: sociología de la música "tropical". Ángel G. Quintero Rivera.
  7. ↑ Plaza Las Delicias. Ponce > Ciudad Senorial > Atracciones Turisticas. Official Website of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  8. ↑ Ramon Marin. Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce. Page 200.
  9. ↑ Luis Fortuno Janeiro. Album Historico de Ponce (1692-1963). Page 12. 1963. Imprenta Fortuno. Ponce, Puerto Rico.
  10. ↑ Plaza Las Delicias. Ponce > Ciudad Senorial > Atracciones Turisticas. Official Website of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  11. ↑ Juan Morel Campos Music Institute. Travel Ponce.
  12. ↑ Ponce: La Capital del Sur de Puerto Rico.
  13. ↑ Frommer's Puerto Rico: Day-by-day. By John Marino. First Edition. Wiley Publishing. 2010. Page 89.
  14. ↑ Frommer's Puerto Rico: Day-by-day. By John Marino. First Edition. Wiley Publishing. 2010. Page 89.
  15. ↑ Puerto Rico. By Suzanne Van Atten. Second Edition, September 2009. Page 106.

Coordinates: 18°00′43.5954″N 66°36′50.4354″W / 18.012109833°N 66.614009833°W / 18.012109833; -66.614009833

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/16/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.