Capitol of Puerto Rico

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South view of the Puerto Rico Capitol, home of the Legislative Assembly.

The Capitol of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Capitolio de Puerto Rico) is located within San Juan, which is the capital of Puerto Rico. The building is home to the bicameral Legislative Assembly, composed of the House of Representatives and Senate. The building is located in the Puerta de Tierra sector of San Juan, between the Ponce de León and Muñoz Rivera avenues.

[edit] History

The idea of constructing a capitol was first introduced by former Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera in 1907, and was partly meant to demonstrate some degree of civilian rule in the island, which at the time was a colony of the United States.^[1] Construction of the building eventually began in 1919 under the leadership of Antonio R. Barceló. The building was inaugurated on February 11, 1929, with the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly taking place three days later.

[edit] Building complex

Over the years, Puerto Rico's capitol complex has grown to now include two legislative annex buildings, designed in the 1950s by the Toro-Ferrer architectural firm: the Rafael Martínez Nadal Senate Annex on the Senate side and the Ernesto Ramos Antonini House Annex on the House side. The Luis Muñoz Marín Senate Office Building houses administrative and committee offices, the Luis A. Ferré Building houses offices for both chambers, as well as a 700 space parking garage, while the Antonio R. Barceló Building houses offices for both chambers, the Legislative Library, and offices for the Superintendent of the Capitol and the Office of Legislative Services. The Ramón Mellado Parsons Building houses Senate offices. The buildings that formerly housed the State Commission of Elections in Puerta de Tierra are currently used to house Senate and House archives, as well as administrative offices.