| Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira | |
|---|---|
| Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico (DSC01933).jpg Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Sola de Pereira, in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico |
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Ponce Creole |
| Town or city | 70 Cristina Street, Ponce |
| Country | Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates | |
| Completed | 1870 |
| Design and construction | |
| Client | Ermelindo Salazar |
| Architect | Juan Bertoli Calderoni |
| Engineer | Juan Bertoli Calderoni |
Centro Cultural de Ponce Carmen Solá de Pereira (English: Carmen Solá de Pereira Ponce Cultural Center) is the cultural center of the city of Ponce, and is located at 70 Cristina street in the Ponce Historic Zone, in Barrio Tercero, Ponce, Puerto Rico.[1] The Center is located in a structure designed in 1870, and it is currently used for educational and cultural activities as well as for art exhibits.[2]
Contents |
The structure, located at 18° 0' 44.244" N, 66° 36' 39.9528" W,[3] was designed in 19870 by the Corsician architect Juan Bertoli Calderoni. Its style incorporates elements of Colonial Spanish and Ponce Creole architecture. Its courtyard is surrounded by a gallery.[1] The building was originally built as the former home of Ermelindo Salazar, a prominent landowner, merchant, banker from Ponce.[1][4] In 1959 the building became the first home of the Museo de Arte de Ponce.[3][4]
The Center was named after Carmen Solá de Pereira, an outstanding educator and lawmarker from Ponce.[1] Solá de Pereira, dedicated her life to the education of disadvantaged children. She was a teacher and school principal in La Cantera, one of Ponce’s most underprivileged communities.[4]
In the 1980s the structure was purchased by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture as the first location of the Museum of Puerto Rican Music. Since 1992 it serves as home to the Ponce Cultural Center,[1] "actively promoting the artistic development on [Ponce]’s rich educational and intellectual environment",[4] including the Noches de Galería, "where renowned as well as promising painters, artisans and sculptors exhibit their works and showcase their talent."[4][5]
The house has the distinction of being the first one in the city to be served by a private telephone line.[1] The line exclusively communicated the owners’ family residences with their commercial offices at the Ponce port. This was 17 years before the service finally arrived to the rest of the City.[4]