Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(PigeonPark;
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)
On the lower end of Calle del Cristo, Parque de las Palomas is a
cobblestoned courtyard shaded with trees at the top of the city wall.
Paloma
means 'dove'
or 'pigeon' in Spanish and it's the latter variety you'll encounter here, in their hundreds.
Some brave souls come here for the view it affords of Bahía de San Juan. Others just turn
up to feed the pigeons. (You can buy birdseed from a vendor by the gate.) Devout Chris-
tians have long believed that if you feed the birds and one 'anoints' you with its pearly
droppings, you have been blessed by God. Agnostics prefer to look upon it as just plain old
bad luck.
Plazuela de la Rogativa
PARK
(SmallPlazaoftheReligiousProcession;
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)
This tiny gem of a park has lovely
vistas overlooking the bay and is home to a whimsical bronze sculpture of the bishop of
San Juan and three women bearing torches. According to legend, the candles held by the
women who walked through this plaza one night in 1797 tricked British lieutenant Aber-
cromby - who was getting ready to lay siege to San Juan with his 8000 troops and flotilla
of more than 50 vessels - into believing that reinforcements were flooding the city from
the rest of the island. Fearful of being outnumbered, Abercromby and his fleet withdrew.
Escuela de Artes Plásticas
NOTABLE BUILDING
(AcademyofFineArts;
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;Norzagaray)
The monumental gray-and-white build-
ing with a red-roofed rotunda across from El Morro is the Escuela de Artes Plásticas.
Built as an insane asylum during the 19th century, this grand building with its symmetrical
wings, columns, Romanesque arches, porticos, courtyards and fountains looks more like a
seat of government. Today it is the source of more than a few jokes by contemporary art
students about the mad dreams that continue to take shape within its walls. See for yourself
when students' work go on display at the end of each academic term, or take a look at the
sculpture court on the right-hand side of the building, where students can be seen chipping
new images from granite.
Paseo de la Princesa
STREET
(WalkwayofthePrincess;
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)
Emanating a distinctly European flavor, the Paseo
de la Princesa is a 19th-century esplanade situated just outside the city walls. Lined with
antique streetlamps, shade trees, statues, benches, fruit vendors' carts and street entertain-
ers, this romantic walkway culminates at the magnificent
Raíces Fountain
, a stunning
statue/water feature that depicts the island's eclectic Taíno, African and Spanish heritage.
