Museo de la Historia de Ponce
Established | 12 December 1992[1] |
---|---|
Location | Calle Isabel #53, SE corner of Calle Isabel & Calle Mayor, Ponce, Puerto Rico |
Coordinates | 18°00′45″N 66°36′42″W / 18.012546°N 66.611729°W |
Type | History museum |
Visitors | 12,464 (2000)[2] |
Director | Jorge Alberto Figueroa Irizarry[3][4] |
Curator | Ms. Maruja Candal Salazar Neysa Rodriguez Deynes[5] |
Owner | Autonomous Municipality of Ponce |
Website | Website |
The Museo de la Historia de Ponce (Museum of the History of Ponce) is a
Inaugurated on 12 December 1992,
It is located in the
History of the museum
The idea of creating a Ponce history museum dates back to the 1930s, following a citizens group's initiative, but the project did not materialize then. Interest in the proposal revived years later under Ponce's Secretariat of Culture. The plan visualized a museum to be constructed on the block bordered by Isabel, Mayor, Cristina, and Salud streets, and Casa Salazar and Casa Zapater, two historic homes, were acquired, as was the empty lot where Casa Shuck Gelpí had once stood. However, the project came to a standstill once again.
The plan was revived once again, but with modifications, at the end of the 1980s. This time the project came under the direction of Ms. Maruja Candal Salazar and Dr. Neysa Rodríguez Deynes (curator and founder). They worked in conjunction with a team of curators that included Lizette Cabrera Salcedo, Dr. José Molinelli, Alberto del Toro, and J. A. Figueroa Irizarry, as well as museum specialists Aníbal Sepúlveda, Néstor Barretto, and Jorge Carbonell, members of the Carimar Research Center. The four-year period from 1989 to 1992 saw the restoration of the Salazar and Zapater houses to serve as home to the museum, and the completion of the research, planning, and design of its first four permanent exhibit halls of the museum, namely, ecology, panorama, economic activity, and architecture.[14]
In 1994, the second phase of the project was initiated, under the direction of Lizette Cabrera Salcedo: the creation of two permanent exhibits, one focused on health and one entitled "Ponce in Puerto Rican Political Life", in addition to a multimedia presentation "Ponce is Ponce." In 1998, the Ernesto Ramos Antonini auditorium, designed by architect José Bermúdez, was inaugurated under the direction of Lizette Cabrera Salcedo, at the location of the old Shuck Gelpí House.
Currently
By 2002, ten years after its founding, the Museum of the History of Ponce had become one of Puerto Rico's most active cultural centers,[15] and Puerto Rico's most complete history museum.[16] The museum provides a variety of cultural offerings intended to strengthen and increase awareness of the study of Puerto Rican and Ponceño history. As part of the 10th anniversary celebrations, the third and last phase of the museum's development was begun. It included two permanent exhibits on education and daily life, and the creation of a general museum catalog.
Building
The main building that houses the museum has stained-glass windows, mosaics, and interior patios. Both buildings where the museum is housed are turn-of-the-20th-century homes. The Salazar House dates from 1911 and was designed by
Contents
The museum consists of 10 exhibition halls. It showcases facts, documents, objects, and
The permanent exhibits of the museum
Ecology
The first exhibition hall depicts the land and climate of the municipality: its coast, plains, and mountains. It shows how the city's natural surroundings are the departure point for learning about its history. It includes a scale model of the municipality, with illustrations of its fertile soils, natural resources, and native fauna. The curator in charge of this exhibit was Dr. José Mollinelli, with sponsorship by CARIMAR.
Panorama
Human beings make an entrance in this exhibit describing how humans interact with their environment. The Panorama hall presents the origins of the settlement at Ponce and the evolution of its population from
Politics
This exhibit focuses on Ponce's role in Puerto Rico's politics and the local political life of the people of Ponce. The exhibit occupies two rooms. The first illustrates the political development of Puerto Rico from 1508 until the 1950s. Photographic murals, documents, photographs, and objects reveal the most significant periods in Puerto Rican political life and Ponce's leading role in this development. The second room explains the creation of the
Finance and Economics
One of the most significant themes in the museum, economic development, is the largest factor in the city's growth from its founding through the present day. The development of the port, agriculture, industry, and banking has supported Ponce's economic development, which in turn has significantly nourished its cultural, social, and intellectual development are evident in this exhibition hall. The curator in charge of this exhibit was Lizette Cabrera Salcedo, with sponsorship by CARIMAR.
Architecture and Urban Development
The evolution of Ponce's urban landscape is illustrated in successive periods of development. The exhibit presents the city's architects and highlights typical elements of Ponce's native architecture. It includes domestic, military, and institutional architecture, public works and the evolution of open space that define this city as a traditional urban center of importance. The hall includes a scale model of the city's urban development, and a photographic montage including plans, buildings, architects, and art installations. The curator in charge of this exhibit was Architect Alberto del Toro, with sponsorship by CARIMAR.
Health and Medicine
This exhibit shows the creation and evolution of Ponce's principal health institutions from 1863 until the present day and the medical community from the early 20th century until the 1940s. It also presents significant events in health, such as Dr.
Collections
The process of putting together the collections involved over 200 of Ponce's own citizens who lent or donated the photographs, documents, and objects that make up the collections. The current collection has over 3,000 photographs, documents, pieces of furniture, and objects on display in the exhibition halls, or conserved in the museum's storage areas.
The most important collections include:
The Dr. Manuel de la Pila Iglesias collection
Covering the period from 1898 to 1950, this collection consists of documents, photographs, and personal objects of
The Juan Sisco Santiago collection
Covering the period from 1930 to 1980, this collection includes documents, publications, objects, and photographs by the famous Ponce photographer Juan Sisco Santiago, and illustrating the political, social, cultural and economic daily life of Ponce during the second half of the 20th century.
The Dr. Ana Dolores Pérez Marchand collection
Covering the period from 1911 to 1950, this collection includes photographs, documents, publications, and personal items of Ponce's first female physician, Ana Dolores Pérez Marchand. Dr. Pérez Marchand was also one of the first three female physician in Puerto Rico. This collection provides a valuable resource for studying the role of women during the early 20th century, and the development of health and medicine in Puerto Rico in general.
The Emilio J. Pasarell collection
Covering the period from 1900 to 1920, this collection includes postcards by Ponce photographer José Rodríguez Serra. The collection was donated by the Emilio J. Pasarell succession. These offer a visual panorama of Ponce's streets, public and private buildings, plazas, and businesses in the first two decades of the 20th century.
The Mariana Suárez de Longo collection
This collection covers the period from 1949 to 1970. It consists of correspondence, invitations, graduation cards, newspaper clippings, telegrams, and photographs of educational activities in Ponce between 1949 and 1970.
The Ramón López Crespo collection
The Ramón López Crespo collection covers the period from 1960 to 1980. It consists of photographs, posters, programs of cultural events, magazines, letters, newspapers, postcards, flyers for musical and theatrical events, illustrating cultural life and events in Ponce between 1960 and 1980.
See also
References
- ISBN 978-1-64131-139-7
- ISBN 978-1-64131-139-7
- ^ Actividades Semana de la Danza 2007. La Danza: El Hogar de la Danza Puertorriqueña.
- ^ Rotund World News. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
- ^ Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
- ^ Universidad Interamericana
- ISBN 978-1-64131-139-7
- ^ Ponce a La Vanguardia del Autonomismo un Siglo Despues. Museo del Autonomismo de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Autonomism Museum), Panteon Nacional Roman Baldorioty de Castro, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Accessed 10 November 2010
- ^ Ponce History Museum. Héctor L. Feliciano Torres. InterAmerican University. 2003. Accessed 29 December 2020.
- ^ Una joya incomparable de Ponce . Los Leones de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 10 October 2011.
- ^ Municipio de Ponce Compra Casa Serralles. WAPA-TV. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ^ El Señorial TV - Desde el Museo de Mameyes. El Senorial. Government of the Municipality of Ponce. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ^ 'La Perla del Sur: un destino completo.' Sandra Torres Guzmán. La Perla del Sur. 11 June 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ^ Universidad Interamericana
- ^ Inter de Ponce
- ^ Universia Puerto Rico
- ^ Brochure titled Tourist Attractions: Enjoy Ponce, Southern Experience. Office of Tourism Development. Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. March 2011.
Further reading
- Fay Fowlie de Flores. Ponce, Perla del Sur: Una Bibliográfica Anotada. Second Edition. 1997. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Universidad de Puerto Rico en Ponce. p. 259. Item 1304. LCCN 92-75480
- Odalys Rivera. "Un Museo Ejemplar." Dialogo. Año 8. (Noviembre de 1993) p. 53. (CUTPO).
External links
- Museum of Ponce History - Travel Ponce