Plaza de la Catedral (San Juan)

Plaza de la Catedral (Spanish for 'cathedral square'), also known as Plazuela de las Monjas ('little square of the nuns'), is a small public square located in front of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista and next to the former Carmelite convent (now a Hotel El Convento) in the Old San Juan historic district of the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The small but historic square is possibly the oldest in the city,[1] dating to the foundation of the cathedral in 1521,[2] and is found at the end of a wide historical residential block bound by the alleyways (Spanish: caletas) of Las Monjas and San Juan to the north and south, respectively, and by Calle del Cristo ('del Cristo Street') to the east.[3] Caleta de San Juan connects this square to the San Juan Gate (Puerta de San Juan),[4] formerly known as the Water Gate (Puerta de Agua) as it was the main harbor entrance into the walled city. This block formerly contained the first Episcopal church in the city between 1909 and 1929 when it was moved to a bigger location in Santurce, and later housed the San Juan Children's Museum (Museo del Niño de San Juan), which closed in 2016.[5]

Plaza de la Catedral
LocationSan Juan Antiguo, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates18°27′56″N 66°07′06″W / 18.46565°N 66.11829°W / 18.46565; -66.11829
Built1521
Part ofOld San Juan Historic District (ID72001553)
Designated NHLDCPOctober 10, 1972

References

edit
  1. ^ San Juan: Historia Ilustrada de su desarrollo urbano, 1508-1898 - Aníbal Sepúlveda Rivera. San Juan 1989, Capítulo 8, pp. 292. Centro de Investigaciones CARIMAR.
  2. ^ "Catedral de San Juan Bautista". Discover Puerto Rico. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  3. ^ Hábitat, Wilbert Pagán Ayala >Especial para (2019-07-20). "La evolución de la Catedral de San Juan Bautista". El Vocero de Puerto Rico (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. ^ dpmubago (2020-03-19). "Plaza de la Catedral de San Juan de Puerto Rico: para descansar". San Juan. Guía de viajes y turismo (in Spanish). Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ^ "Museo del Niño del Viejo San Juan podría cerrar". El Nuevo Día (in Spanish). 2016-02-18. Retrieved 2023-09-10.