National Register of Historic Places

El Capitolio de Puerto Rico

San Juan, San Juan County, Puerto Rico
Listed
November 18, 1977
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
77001555

About this property

The Capitol of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Capitolio de Puerto Rico), most commonly known as El Capitolio (The Capitol), is the seat of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, responsible for the legislative branch of the government in the archipelago and island. Located in San Juan Islet immediately outside the city walls of the Old San Juan historic quarter in the capital city and municipality of San Juan, the ocean and bayfront, the building was designed in Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style. The entirely white marble-cladded edifice was built by architect Rafael Carmoega between 1921 and 1929 to resemble the Pantheon in Rome, using as inspiration the Low Memorial Library in New York City. It is part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1977. Situated in the center of San Juan Islet in the Puerta de Tierra historic district overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the north and San Juan Bay in the south from an elevated point, the Capitol is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from both La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, in the Old San Juan historic quarter in the western end of the Islet, and the Supreme Court Building, seat of the judicial branch, in the eastern end of the Islet in Puerta de Tierra. The Court and Capitol are directly connected via Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue in the north and Juan Ponce de León Avenue in the south, both of which are directly linked to La Fortaleza via San Francisco Street in the north and Fortaleza Street in the south. The Capitol of Puerto Rico has three combined characteristics unique in the world: the ceiling of its dome is decorated with mosaics, its exterior is cladded with marble, and its main façade is next to and faces the Atlantic Ocean.

Location

San Juan, San Juan County, Puerto Rico
18.46954, -66.10587

Categories

POLITICS/GOVERNMENTARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

School of Tropical Medicine
Industrial
0.1 mi
Casa de Espana
Industrial
0.1 mi
Biblioteca Carnegie
Industrial
0.2 mi
Escuela Graduado Jose Celso Barbosa
Industrial
0.3 mi
Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Naval Bombardment of San Juan (Puerto Rico)
1898Frontier
0.3 mi
Ponce de León Conquest of Puerto Rico 1508
1508Colonial
0.3 mi
Bombardment of San Juan (Puerto Rico 1898)
1898Frontier
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was El Capitolio de Puerto Rico listed on the National Register?

El Capitolio de Puerto Rico was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 18, 1977.

What type of historic resource is El Capitolio de Puerto Rico?

El Capitolio de Puerto Rico is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for El Capitolio de Puerto Rico?

The period of significance for El Capitolio de Puerto Rico is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near El Capitolio de Puerto Rico?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near El Capitolio de Puerto Rico will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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