Luis Muñoz Rivera Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Luis Muñoz Rivera Park (or Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera in Spanish) is a 27.2 acre (110,000 m²) recreational and national park located in the entrance of Old San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The park was named in honor of Luis Muñoz Rivera.
[edit] History
In 1919, land was set aside to create a large recreational park for the residents of San Juan. The land that was set aside once formed part of the third line of defense for the city during the 17th and 16th century. The powder house built in 1769 (“El Polvorín”) which supplied Fort San Jeronimo is still located on the grounds of the park. (The powder house was built away from the fort for safety reasons). The east side of the park is bordered by the elegant Puerto Rican Supreme Court building. To the north lies the public beach called "Escambron" and Sixto Escobar stadium, former home of the San Juan Senadores and Santurce Crabbers baseball clubs, which was refurbished for the 1979 Panamerican games.
The park was designed by Bennet, Parsons & Frost of Chicago in 1924. Construction began four years later in 1928. In 1990 the park was restored with designs by the architect Otto Reyes Casanova, followed by further work by Andres Mignucci Giannoni in 2003.
