Ponce
- Filed under: Puerto Rico
- Date: May 26,2008
Ponce, officially the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, is a municipality of Puerto Rico located in the Southern Coastal Plain region of the island, south of Adjuntas, Utuado and Jayuya; east of Peñuelas; and west of Juana Díaz. It has a total of 19 wards, including the historic Ponce Pueblo (the downtown area of the city).
Ponce, the second largest city in Puerto Rico outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named after Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. It is located a few miles from the Caribbean coastline of the island. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South) and La Ciudad Señorial de Puerto Rico (Majestic city of Puerto Rico).
Ponce’s tourist appeal has not gone unnoticed, since its peculiar architectural styles are unique to Puerto Rico. Many of the city’s features (from house façades to street corners) are modeled on Barcelona’s, given the city’s strong Catalonian heritage.
Since the 1970s, and starting with the Ponce Holiday Inn, several hotels have been built to satisfy the tourism industry. Newer Hotels include Hilton Ponce Golf & Casino Resort, home to the new Costa Caribe Golf & Country Club, featuring a 27-hole PGA championship golf course.
Some sites worth visiting are the Serralles Castle and the Cruceta El Vigia, a 100-foot observation tower which overlooks the city, as well as the street corners and 19th century domestic architecture in the blocks surrounding the central plaza. One popular legend is that scouts first used El Vigia to scan for attacking ships.
Ponce is the home of the Ponce Museum of Art, which was operated by Puerto Rico’s former Governor Luis A. Ferré until his death at the age of 99. Designed by Edward Durrell Stone (Museum of Modern Art, NY), it is the only museum of international stature on the island, housing the most extensive art collection in the Caribbean. Its best-known painting is Flaming June, by Frederic Leighton.
Ponce is also home to the Serralles rum distillery (home of the Don Q and Captain Morgan, and Parrot Bay rums).
Plaza Las Delicias is the town’s main square. It features several fountains (namely the “Lions Fountain”), the Ponce Cathedral and Parque de Bombas.
Other buildings around Ponce’s main plaza include Casa Alcaldía (city hall), the oldest colonial building in the city, dating to the 1840s. Nearby sits Casa Armstrong-Poventud, an example of the neoclassical architectural heritage of the island.