Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro
Cemetery and museum in Ponce, Puerto Rico / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro (English: Román Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon) is a tract of land in Barrio Segundo of the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, originally designed as the city's cemetery, but later converted into what has come to be a famous burial place. Established in 1842, it is Puerto Rico's first (and only) national pantheon.[4][5] It is the only cemetery dedicated as a museum in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.[6][7] Prior to being dedicated as a Panteón Nacional, it was known as Cementerio Viejo or as Cementerio Antiguo de Ponce,[lower-alpha 1] and is listed under that name on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Pantheon is named after Román Baldorioty de Castro, a prolific Puerto Rican politician, and firm believer of Puerto Rican autonomy and independence. His remains are located here.[4] The Pantheon also houses a small museum about the history of autonomism in the Island, and it is currently used both as a park and a venue for the expression of culture and the arts.[8] It is called the Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueño.
Cementerio Antiguo de Ponce | |
Location | Calle Torre no. 1 and Calle Frontispicio, Ponce, Puerto Rico |
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Coordinates | 18°00′57″N 66°37′04″W |
Area | 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) |
Built | 1842 |
Architect | Antonio Torruella (1842)[1] Nieto Blajol Iglesia (1864 project) |
Architectural style | Neoclassical |
NRHP reference No. | 84003149[2] |
Added to NRHP | 5 January 1984 |
Established | 1992 |
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Location | Torres no. 1 &Frontispicio St., Ponce, Puerto Rico |
Type | Cemetery Museum |
Visitors | 17,567 (2000)[3] |
Owner | Autonomous Municipality of Ponce |
Prior to being turned into a National Pantheon in 1991, it was known as Antiguo Cementerio de Ponce (Ponce's Old Cemetery), to differentiate it from the newer (though now also over 100 years old) Cementerio Civil de Ponce (Ponce Civil Cemetery).[9] Built in 1842, after the design of Antonio Torruella,[10] the cemetery was enlarged in 1864, following the design of Nieto Blajol Iglesia. It closed in 1918.[11]