Puerta de Tierra, San Juan

Puerta de Tierra is a subbarrio occupying the eastern portion of the barrio of San Juan Antiguo in the municipality of San Juan in Puerto Rico. On October 15, 2019, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, to be included with the Old San Juan Historic District.

Bike (memorial on tree) in Puerta de Tierra, San Juan

History

The United States took control of Puerto Rico from Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898. In 1899, the United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico, finding that the population of Puerta de Tierra was 5,453.[1]

Cityscape
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18995,453—    
191010,836+98.7%
192015,716+45.0%
193011,936−24.1%
193513,356+11.9%
194011,480−14.0%
19509,114−20.6%
19608,075−11.4%
19706,143−23.9%
19805,522−10.1%
19905,366−2.8%
20004,135−22.9%
20102,924−29.3%
Populations of military and naval reserves are not included from 1899 through 1940.

Puerta de Tierra conforms the eastern portion of the Islet of San Juan and its connected to the mainland by bridges and a causeway. Puerta de Tierra is the site of many of Puerto Rico's government buildings. With a 2000 census population of 4,135 and a land area of 0.60 sq. miles (1.55 km²), Puerta de Tierra is the largest and most populous subbarrio of San Juan Antiguo barrio.[2]

In October 2017, Puerta de Tierra won an award from the International Union of Architects, a non-governmental body based in Switzerland which represents the world's architects. Puerta de Tierra was awarded "best public spaces".[3]

National Register of Historic Places

On October 15, 2019, Puerta de Tierra was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places. According to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día, Bibiana Hernández had worked for decades to have Puerta de Tierra added to the US National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and was overjoyed at the news. Many people such as artist and community spokesman, Jesús “Bubu” Negrón, have worked along with Arleen Pabón-Charneco, a Puerto Rican architect and author of the NRHP nomination forms, to bring more visibility to the area.

The community expressed concerns saying the area was starting to experience gentrification. This designation now makes the entire Isleta de San Juan (San Juan Islet) a historic district, along with the Old San Juan Historic District (which is also on the small isle) and the designation should make it easier to prioritize its care with federal funds for these purposes. There were already thirteen structures in Puerta de Tierra on the NRHP, including El Falansterio, the Brambaugh school and the José Celso Barbosa school.[4]

There is a phrase seen on murals around Puerta de Tierra that says Aquí vive gente (People live here) and the community has been planning to create a museum about Puerta de Tierra.[5]

Attractions

Hotels and Beaches

Parks and Recreation Sites

Government Service Sites

Federal Government of the United States
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office
  • U.S. National Guard Office

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Legislative Branch
  • Capitol of Puerto Rico (Capitolio de Puerto Rico)

Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Judicial Branch

Autonomous Municipality of San Juan
  • Casa Cuna (US Navy Radio Station)
  • City Center for Children Protection
  • Dr. Quevedo Báez Health Center[6]
  • Medical Primary Care and Emergency Room Services
  • Subbarrios of San Juan Antiguo

See also

References
  1. Joseph Prentiss Sanger; Henry Gannett; Walter Francis Willcox (1900). Informe sobre el censo de Puerto Rico, 1899, United States. War Dept. Porto Rico Census Office (in Spanish). Imprenta del gobierno. p. 162.
  2. Puerto Rico: 2010 Population and housing unit counts (PDF). U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. 2010. p. 76.
  3. Rivera Clemente, Yaritza. "Paseo Puerta de Tierra gana premio en Suiza". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish).
  4. "Puerta de Tierra es designada como distrito histórico [Puerta de Tierra is given historic district designation]". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). October 16, 2019.
  5. "La comunidad de Puerta de Tierra inaugura su Museo de Historia y Comunidad con una muestra en Nueva York". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). May 31, 2019.
  6. https://sanjuanapp.wearecontactica.com/servicios/salud/

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