Timeline of San Juan, Puerto Rico facts for kids

The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

16th–18th centuries

Porto Rico, 17th century

• 1511 – August 8: First Catholic Diocese in the Americas established in San Juan.
• 1513
  • Construction of a wooden cathedral in the Islet of San Juan begins.
  • Escuela de gramática established by bishop Alonso Manso.
• 1521
  • August 15: Ciudad de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico officially founded by Spanish colonists after abandoning nearby Caparra.
  • Construction of Casa Blanca for the Ponce de León family begins.
  • Platting and construction of several streets in Old San Juan including Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral.
• 1523 – Convento de Santo Tomas de Aquino founded.
• 1524 – Nuestra Señora de la Concepción Hospital built.
• 1526 – October 4: St. Francis Hurricane occurs.
• 1528 – San José Church construction begins.
• 1529 – October 18: Harbor attack by Caribs.
• 1530
  • August 5: Hurricane occurs.
  • Casa Blanca built.
• 1533 – Construction of La Fortaleza begins by orders from King Charles I of Spain.
• 1540 – La Fortaleza built.
• 1542 – Cathedral of San Juan Bautista construction begins.
• 1560 – City wall construction begins.
• 1560s – San Antonio Bridge built across Condado Lagoon.
• 1568
  • September 7: Hurricane occurs.
  • Fortín San Antonio is built to protect the eastern entrance to the San Juan Islet.
• 1580 – San Juan becomes the capital of the Captaincy General of Puerto Rico.
• 1582 – Population: 850 (approximate estimate).
• 1591 – Castillo San Felipe del Morro construction begins.
• 1594 – Witch-hunt, the first of its kind in the Americas, occurs in what is now Puerta de Tierra by orders of bishop and inquisitor Don Nicolás Ramos.
• 1595 – November 22: Battle of San Juan begins.
• 1598 – June: San Juan taken by British forces; Boquerón battery sacked.
• 1605 – Cabildo constructed in Plaza de San Juan.
• 1615 – September 12: Hurricane occurs.
• 1625 – September 24: Town besieged by Dutch forces.
• 1651 – Monasterio del Señor San José de la Orden de nuestra Señora del Carmen founded by Doña Ana Lanzós.
• 1733 – Palacio Episcopal construction begins (approximate date).
• 1750 – establishment of the first advance defense line on the eastern end of the San Juan Islet.
• 1756 – Church of Saint Francis of Assisi established by the Third Order of Franciscans.
• 1760 – Santurce founded as San Mateo de Cangrejos.
• 1769 – San Gerónimo Powderhouse built.
• 1770 – Miraflores Powderhouse built.
• 1780 – Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud built.
• 1783 – Castillo de San Cristóbal built.
• 1787
  • May 2: 1787 Boricua earthquake causes considerable damage to the city fortifications.
  • May 3: Fiesta de Cruz begins.
• 1791 – Fortín de San Gerónimo is built.
• 1797 – April: San Juan besieged by British forces.
• 1800 – construction of the Arsenal de San Juan begins.

19th century

• 1806 – Gaceta de Puerto Rico newspaper begins publication.
• 1810 – Construction of a Camino Real between San Juan and Río Piedras (today the Ponce de León Avenue).
• 1813 – Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico founded.
• 1820 – Population: 7,658.
• 1822 – Board of charity established.
• 1823 – Sociedad Filarmónica (philharmonic society) formed.
• 1832
  • Church of San Mateo de Cangrejos of Santurce built.
  • Real Audiencia de Puerto Rico [es] established.
  • Teatro Municipal (theatre) opens.
• 1840 – Colegio de Abogados founded.
• 1845 – Town divided into barrios San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Barbara, Santo Domingo, and Ballajá.
• 1846 – Castillo San Felipe del Morro lighthouse is built.
• 1847 – San Juan Waterworks established in Río Piedras.
• 1848 – Cafe de La Mallorquina in business.
• 1850 – Real Intendencia Building constructed.
• 1853
  • Cataño-San Juan steamship begins operating.
  • Marketplace built in Santa Barbara barrio.
• 1854 – Paseo de la Princesa established.
• 1858 – Telegraph service is established in San Juan and Santurce.
• 1859 – Barrios De la Marina and Puerta de Tierra become part of San Juan.
• 1863
  • Santurce becomes part of San Juan.
  • Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery established.
• 1864 – Ballajá Barracks built.
• 1865 – Colegio de Párvulos built.
• 1867 – November 18: a 7.5 earthquake heavily damages portions of the city wall, prompting the demolition of its southeastern portion afterwards.
• 1873 – March 22: Slavery officially abolished in Puerto Rico.
• 1876 – April 30: Ateneo Puertorriqueño (cultural entity) founded.
• 1877 – Cárcel de la Princesa (prison) built.
• 1878 – steam tramway service established between San Juan and Río Piedras.
• 1879 – José Ramón Becerra y de Gárate becomes mayor.
• 1882 – Ponce de León statue erected in the Plaza de San José [es].
• 1883 – Auxilio Mutuo Hospital established.
• 1884 – October: González Padín, the first department store in Puerto Rico, opens its first store in San Juan.
• 1885 – Civil Hospital built.
• 1888 – La Carbonera barrio becomes part of San Juan.
• 1893
  • October 5: Sociedad Anónima de Economías y Préstamos (later Banco Popular de Puerto Rico) founded.
  • Christopher Columbus statue erected in the Plaza Colón at the site of the former Puerta de Tierra city gate.
  • Electric street lighting established.
• 1894 – Population: 23,414.
• 1897 – Phone infrastructure established.
• 1898
  • May 12: Bombardment of San Juan by United States forces.
  • June 22: Second Battle of San Juan.
  • June 28: Third Battle of San Juan.
  • August 12: End of hostilities between US and Spanish military forces. United States Military Government begins.
  • October: Francisco del Valle becomes mayor.
  • Carretera Central (Ponce-San Juan Road) built.
  • San Juan News begins publication.
  • Railway built (approximate date).
• 1899
  • March 12: Mission of St. John the Baptist, the first Episcopal mission in Puerto Rico, is established.
  • April 11: Town becomes part of United States-annexed Puerto Rico per Treaty of Paris.
  • Chamber of commerce founded.
  • Population: 32,048.
• 1900
  • May 1: Foraker Act comes into force, civil government for Puerto Rico begins. United States Military Government ends.
  • Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Department of Education headquartered in San Juan.
  • Insane asylum established.
  • Modern La Perla settlement begins (approximate date).

20th century

1900s–1950s

• 1901
  • Trolley de San Juan begins operating.
  • San Juan High School opens.
• 1902 – City government formed into legislative and executive branches.
• 1903
  • March 12: University of Puerto Rico established in Rio Piedras as Escuela Normal.
  • Barriada Miranda, the first official public residential area, is built in Puerta de Tierra.
  • Roberto H. Todd Wells becomes mayor.
• 1904 – Camp Las Casas established by the US Army.
• 1907 – José Julián Acosta School, the first public elementary school, is built in Puerta de Tierra.
• 1909 – Harbor enlarged.
• 1910
  • March 6: Puerto Rico Ilustrado begins publication.
  • Dos Hermanos Bridge opens.
  • First Lutheran and Methodist churches in San Juan open in Puerta de Tierra.
  • Santurce marketplace is established.
  • Tres Banderas Theater opens, the first of many theaters to be established in an area known as Broadway of Puerto Rico during the 1910s and 1920s.
  • Population: 48,716.
• 1913 – Cine Luna opens.
• 1914 – Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse is built.
• 1915
  • March 25: the first shot of World War I fired against the Central Powers by the regular armed forces of the United States is shot by Lieutenant Teófilo Marxuach in the San Juan Bay.
  • December 8: Church, school and convent of San Agustín are officially opened.
  • Carnegie Library, the first purpose-built library in Puerto Rico, is built.
• 1917 – July 24: Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico is officially inaugurated.
• 1918 – October 11: 1918 San Fermín earthquake.
• 1919
  • October 16: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel in business.
  • San Juan Asamblea Municipal (municipal assembly) and Concejo de Administración (administrative council) created.
• 1920 – Population: 70,707.
• 1921 – September 21: Academia del Perpetuo Socorro founded.
• 1922 – December 3: WKAQ radio begins broadcasting.
• 1923
  • U.S. military Fort Buchanan established.
  • Mansion Georgetti (residence) built.
• 1925
  • Academia San Jorge founded.
  • Loaiza Cordero Institute for Blind Children, the first of its kind in Puerto Rico, is founded.
• 1926 – School of Tropical Medicine established by Bailey Ashford.
• 1928
  • September: San Felipe Segundo Hurricane occurs.
  • Luis Muñoz Rivera Park laid out.
  • Workers protest at Puerta de Tierra and its docks.
• 1929
  • January 1: Women's suffrage begins in Puerto Rico.
  • February 11: Capitol of Puerto Rico building constructed.
• 1930
  • February: Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is built.
  • Population: 114,715.
• 1931 – San Juan Custom House built.
• 1932 – September–October: San Ciprian hurricane.
• 1934 – Luis Muñoz Rivera Park opens to the public.
• 1935
  • May 28: Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration headquartered in San Juan.
  • November 12: Estadio Sixto Escobar opened.
  • Universidad del Sagrado Corazón is established.
• 1937 – Puerta de Tierra Tenement Group Project A, today known as El Falansterio de Puerta de Tierra, is built.
• 1939 – Martín Peña Bridge built.
• 1940
  • United States Naval Air Station Isla Grande (Isla Grande Airport) established.
  • Population: 169,247.
• 1942 – October 10: Normandie Hotel opens.
• 1943 – March 3: Fort Brooke is established by the US Army.
• 1945 – January 2: Roberto Sánchez Vilella becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 1946 – January 2: Felisa Rincón de Gautier becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 1947 – WAPA, WIAC, WITA, and WRSJ radio begin broadcasting.
• 1948 – City flag [es] design adopted.
• 1949
  • February 4: San Juan National Historic Site established by the National Park Service.
  • December 9: Caribe Hilton Hotel built.
• 1950
  • October 30: San Juan Nationalist revolt.
  • Residencial Las Casas housing complex built.
  • Population: 224,767.
• 1951
  • July 1: Río Piedras becomes part of San Juan municipality.
  • Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, the first purpose-built museum in Puerto Rico, officially opens.
• 1952 – City officially becomes capital of newly created Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
• 1953
  • San Juan Cruise Port officially established.
  • Sha'are Zedeck, the first synagogue in Puerto Rico, opens in Santurce.
• 1954
  • May: WAPA-TV and WKAQ-TV (television) begin broadcasting.
  • Ballets de San Juan founded.
• 1955
  • June: Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and Archivo General de Puerto Rico headquartered in city.
  • Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport opens.
• 1956 – Casals Festival of classical music begins.
• 1958
  • December: La Concha Resort opens.
  • Supreme Court Building officially inaugurated by U.S. Supreme Court chief justice Earl Warren.
  • Casa del Libro established.
• 1959
  • May 11: Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority established.
  • June: U.S. National Governors Association meets in San Juan.
  • The San Juan Star English-language newspaper begins publication.

1960s–1990s

• 1960
  • Office of Secretario de la Asamblea Municipal (secretary of the municipal assembly) created.
  • Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico opens in the former Colegio de las Madres del Sagrado Corazón.
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico formed.
  • Cataño Ferry regular service is established by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority.
  • Population: 451,658.
• 1962
  • January 27: Hotel El Convento is opened on the former Carmelite monastery.
  • Hiram Bithorn Stadium is opened.
• 1963 – October 4: Puerto Rico Sheraton Hotel (today the San Juan Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino) opens.
• 1965 – Hato Rey central business district (Milla de Oro) established with the construction of gubernamental and financial high-rises such as Banco Popular headquarters.
• 1966
  • July: 1966 Central American and Caribbean Games held.
  • September: Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico and San Juan Children's Choir established.
  • Albizu University established by Carlos Albizu Miranda at the former psychiatric asylum.
  • University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus founded.
• 1967 – August 24: El Monte Mall, the first climate controlled indoor mall in Puerto Rico, opens.
• 1968
  • February 28: Center for Advanced Studies on Puerto Rico and the Caribbean founded by Pablo Casals, Luis Muñoz Marín, Roberto Busó Carrasquillo and Jaime Benítez.
  • September 12: Plaza Las Américas shopping mall in business.
• 1969 – January 2: Carlos Romero Barceló becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 1970
  • January: San Sebastián Street Festival established.
  • Population: 452,749.
• 1971 – March 10: San Juan Botanical Garden inaugurated.
• 1973
  • February 1: Roberto Clemente Coliseum opened.
  • April 11: Puerto Rico National Library headquartered in city.
• 1974 – April: Association of Caribbean Historians organized during meeting in San Juan.
• 1976 – June: 2nd G7 summit held in Dorado near city.
• 1977
  • January 12: Hernán Padilla becomes Mayor of San Juan.
  • San Juan Police Department is officially established.
• 1979 – July: 1979 Pan American Games held.
• 1981
  • April 9: Centro de Bellas Artes (opera house) opens.
  • First mosque in Puerto Rico is established in Río Piedras.
• 1983 – December: La Fortaleza and San Juan National Historic Site designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 1984
  • October 4: Puerto Rico Museum of Contemporary Art established.
  • October 12: Pope John Paul II pastoral visit to San juan.
• 1985 – January 2: Baltasar Corrada del Río becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 1986
  • June: U.S. Conference of Mayors held in San Juan.
  • December 31: Dupont Plaza Hotel arson.
  • San Juan Philharmonic Chorale formed.
• 1988 – Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano de San Juan (historical archives) established.
• 1989
  • January 2: Héctor Luis Acevedo becomes Mayor of San Juan.
  • September 18: Hurricane Hugo.
  • Sociedad Puertorriqueña de Genealogía headquartered in San Juan.
• 1991 – Autonomous Municipalities Act of 1991 created.
• 1992
  • Plaza del Quinto Centenario built to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the European discovery and Spanish conquest of Puerto Rico and the Americas.
  • Museo de Las Américas established in the former Ballajá Barracks.
• 1994 – Teodoro Moscoso Bridge opens.
• 1997 – January 2: Sila María Calderón becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 1998 – Nuevo Milenio State Forest is proclaimed to protect the last remaining karst hills from urban sprawl in San Juan.
• 2000
  • June 30: Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico established at the former civil hospital.
  • August 3: San Patricio State Forest proclaimed.

21st century

• 2001 – January 2: Jorge Santini becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 2004
  • September 4: José Miguel Agrelot Coliseum opened.
  • September 15: Hurricane Jeanne occurs.
  • December 17: Tren Urbano, the first rapid transit system of the Caribbean, begins operating.
• 2005 – the Puerto Rico Convention Center is officially opened.
• 2006 – December 15: San Juan Natatorium is opened.
• 2008 – September: Hurricane Kyle occurs.
• 2009 – May: Economic protest.
• 2010
  • December 24: largest earthquake to directly impact the San Juan metropolitan area since 1975.
  • Population: 395,326.
• 2011 – 2010–2011 University of Puerto Rico strikes
• 2012 – November 6: Territorial Puerto Rican status referendum, 2012 held.
• 2013 – January 14: Carmen Yulín Cruz becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 2017 – September 20: Hurricane Maria occurs and is covered extensively by CBS journalist David Begnaud
• 2019 – July 8 - August 12: Protests throughout San Juan in response to Telegramgate
• 2020 – March 13: first case of COVID-19 in Puerto Rico reported in San Juan
• 2021 – January 11: Miguel Romero becomes Mayor of San Juan.
• 2023 – January 15: San Juan Puerto Rico Temple, the third LDS temple of the Caribbean and first in Puerto Rico, is officially dedicated.