San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan wis foondit in 1521 bi Juan Ponce de León. It wis namit efter San Juan Bautista, or St. John the Baptist (name gien bi Christopher Columbus). San Juan is kent as "La Ciudad Amurallada" an aw. This means the "wawed ceety". San Juan haes mony auld biggins still staundin the day. Mony Spaingie splorers came durin the Age o Diskivery an biggit forts, kirkes, an ither historical biggins. An ensaumple o a vera auld fort is "La Fortaleza". It is kent as "Palacio de Santa Catalina" an aw. In the saxteent century, it wis a Spaingie fortress against Caribs. Thir wur the fowk native tae the Caribbean islands an Central Americae. Anither auld biggin is the auldest residence in Auld San Juan, Casas de los Contrasfuertes (Hoose o Buttresses).

San Juan is locatit alang the north-eastren coast o Puerto Rico. It lees sooth o the Atlantic Ocean; north o Caguas an Trujillo Alto; east o an Guaynabo; an wast o Carolina. The ceety occupees an aurie o 76.93 square mile (199.2 km²), o which, 29.11 square mile (75.4 km²) (37.83%) is watter. San Juan's main watter bouks are San Juan Bay an twa naitural lagoons, the Condado an San José.^[6]

San Juan haes a tropical monsoon climate an enjoys an average temperatur o 79.9 °F (26.6 °C) awtho 90 °F (32 °C) or heicher temperaturs are aften felt durin the wetter months o the northren simmer, especially if the winds come frae the sooth. In the winter, temperatures can drop tae aroond 60 °F (16 °C), tho the average winter law is 71 °F (22 °C). The ceulest temperatur iver recordit wis 60 °F (16 °C) on 3 Mairch 1957, an the hettest wis 98 °F (37 °C) on 9 October 1981.^[7] Rainfaw is well-distributit throuoot the year, but the months o Januar, Februar, an Mairch are the driest; as Februar averages juist unner 1.95 inches (49.5 mm) o rain, the ceety faws unner the tropical monsoon category.^[8] Rainfaw averages 56.35 inches (1,431.3 mm), fawin on a average 198.5 days per year;^[9] despite this dampness, the ceety averages nearly 3,000 oors o sunshine per year, or juist ower 2/3 o the possible tot.^[10]

The airchitectur o San Juan is vera diverse, due tae its size an aw the cultural influences receivit durin its existence. The auldest pairt o the ceety, kent as Auld San Juan, maistly featurs the influence Spaingie airchitectur. This pairt o the ceety is comprised bi a netwirk o setted roads uisually surroondit bi auncient, twa-storiet hooses biggit on masonry. Some colonial structurs hae been restored an serve aither as govrenment offices or museums. Some ensaumples are the Ballajá Barracks, which nou serve as museum an heidquairter o several cultural organisations; La Fortaleza, which haes servit as the residence o the Govrenor o Puerto Rico syne the 16t Century; an the Auncient Welfare Asylum, which nou hooses the Institute o Puerto Rican Cultur, amang ithers. Auld San Juan featurs several public squares an aw, lik the Plaza de Armas, locatit in front o San Juan City Hall; an cathedrals, lik the Cathedral o San Juan Bautista.^[15] Auld San Juan is notable for bein pairtly enclosed bi massive waws an fortifications biggit bi the Spaingie govrenment an aw.

The airchitectur is mair variet in ither destricts o the ceety. The destrict o Santurce featurs a lot o influence frae airt deco, while the destricts o Hato Rey featur mair modren structurs.

Wha is nou kent as Auld San Juan occupeed the wastren end o a rocky islet at the mooth o San Juan Bay. Durin the 20t century, the main population centres surgit well ayond the waws o the auld ceety an ontae Puerto Rico's main island, an mergit wi the existin dounsets east an sooth o Auld San Juan. Wi the annexation o Río Piedras in 1951, the municipality o San Juan grew fower times its previous size. As a result, the ceety is nou componed o a variety o destricts an neebourheids. San Juan is nou subdividit intae 18 destricts,^[16] 16 o which faw athin the umwhile municipality o Río Piedras. Aicht destricts are faur subdividit intae sectors, includin twa destricts in the aurie that covered the oreeginal municipality o San Juan. The 18 destricts are:

Durin the Spaingie colonial times maist o the urban population resided in what is nou kent as Auld San Juan. This sector is locatit on the wastren hauf o a sma island cried the Isleta de San Juan, which is connectit tae the mainland bi twa brigs an a causewey. The sma island, which comprises an aurie o 47 square miles (122 km²), hosts the wirkin-cless neebourheid o Puerta de Tierra an maist o Puerto Rico's central govrenment biggins an aw, includin the Commonwalth's Capitol.The main central pairt o the ceety is characterisit bi narrae streets made o blue cobblestane an picturesque colonial biggins, some o which date back tae the 16t an 17t century. Sections o the auld ceety are surroondit bi massive waws an several defensive structurs an notable forts. Thir include the 16t-century Fort San Felipe del Morro an the 17t-century Fort San Cristóbal, baith pairt o San Juan National Historic Site, an the 16t-century El Palacio de Santa Catalina, kent as La Fortaleza an aw, which serves as the govrenor's mansion.^[17] Ither biggins o interest predatin the 20t century are the Ayuntamiento or Alcaldía (Ceety Haw), the Diputación Provincial an the Real Intendencia buildings, which currently hoose the Puerto Rico Department of State,^[18] the Casa Rosa, the San José Church (1523) an the adjacent Hotel El Convento, the umwhile hoose o the Ponce de León faimily kent as Casa Blanca, the Teatro Tapia, the umwhile Spaingie barracks (nou Museum o Ballajá), La Princesa (umwhile municipal jyle, nou heidquairterin the Puerto Rico Tourism Company), an the municipal cemetery o Santa María Magdalena de Pazzi, locatit juist ootside the ceety waws.^[19][20][21] The Cathedral o San Juan Bautista (construction began in the 1520s) is locatit in Auld San Juan an aw, an contains the tomb o the Spaingie splorer an dounset foonder Juan Ponce de León.^[22] Auld San Juan, kent as the "auld ceety", is the main cultural tourist attraction in Puerto Rico; its bayside is lined bi dock slips for lairge cruise ships.

East o Auld San Juan lees the walthy tourist-orientit neebourheid o Condado, which occupees laund that uised tae be awned bi entrepreneur Pablo Ubarri Capetillo, a Spaingie railwey developer an Coont o San José de Santurce unner the Spaingie colonial period. Beaches sic as nearbi Ocean Park, popular wi soummers, surfers an kitesurfers, are foond aw alang the destrict's Atlantic coastline which is the locus o numerous hotels an aw.^[23]

Near Condado are twa separate business destricts, Santurce an Miramar. Miramar is mainly a residential aurie risin sooth o the Condado Lagoon. It comprises the umwhile barrio o Miraflores, as well as drained mairskland an landfill ower which wis biggit San Juan's first airport, the Isla Grande airport, which wis renamit Fernando Luis Ribas Dominicci Airport in honour o Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci (USAF).Miramar nou hosts the Puerto Rico Convention Center as well as some o San Juan Harbor's cruise ship piers. In 2005 Miramar wis designatit an historical destrict o Puerto Rico.^[24]

Santurce, oreeginally namit San Mateo de Cangrejos (Saunt Matthew o the Crabs), wis a dounset for freed African slaves durin the early days o the ceety. Efter Pablo Ubarri socht permission tae link San Juan wi Río Piedras proper via steam tramwey in 1878, the time it teuk tae traivel atween baith pynts wur shortened an tharebi stimulatit the colonisation an growthe o the destrict. At the beginnin o the twintiet century an electric trolley wis installed, the tounship wis split intae three pairts, an its main dounset, mergit wi the ceety, wis renamit uisin the Spainyie spellin o Santurtzi (Saunt George in Basque), Ubarri's birthplace in Vizcaya, Spain. The "Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rico Museum of Art)^[25] an ither important cultural venues are locatit in Santurce.

Sooth o Santurce is Hato Rey, pairt o the umwhile municipality o Río Piedras. Hato Rey wis grazin grund for cattle awned bi the ryal govrenment (hence its name, the Keeng's Herd in Spainyie) as early as the 16t century,^[26] and is nou considered the financial centre of the island. A section of this destrict is eften referred tae as Milla de Oro (actually 0.47 mile (0.76 km)^* lang) due in pairt tae the mony banks and businesses locatit thare.^[26]

In the soothren pairt o the ceety is the socially diversifee'd commonty o Río Piedras. Foondit in the mid 1850s, Río Piedras wis a separate toun which hostit succar cane plantations an the estates o some o San Juan's walthiest indwallers (as well as thair wirkin cless staff). The Spainyie colonial govrenors haed thair simmer hame thare on laund an aw which eventually gae wey tae the main campus o the University of Puerto Rico. In 1951 the municipalities o San Juan an Río Piedras wur mergit tae redefine San Juan's current ceety leemits. The day Río Piedras comprises the lairgest aurie o the municipality o San Juan.^[27] an is hame tae the renouned, tradeetional "Plaza del Mercado" (Río Piedras Mercatplace), the main campus an the Medical Sciences campus o the University of Puerto Rico an the San Juan Botanical Garden.

Teams based in San Juan hae been notably successfu in athletic competeetion. The Santurce Crabbers wan the National Superior Basketball League championship on 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 an 2003 durin this period bein recognisit as a dynasty. The San Juan Senators an the Santurce Crabbers wur the twa major basebaa teams in the ceety, the championship o the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League a tot o seiventeen times. The Santurce Crabbers are locatit third amang teams wi maire championships in the Caribbean Series, winnin championships in the 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993 an 2000 edeetions o the tournament. The ceety haes been the host o numerous events athin the sports commonty an aw; some ensaumples include:

• Host o the 1966 Central American an Caribbean Games.^[28]
• Host o the 1979 Pan American Games.^[29]
• Haes been host o the Caribbean World Series nine times.^[30]
• Major League Baseball's Montreal Expos played 22 hame gemmes at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in baith 2003 an 2004.^[31] The team briefly considered muivin permanently tae San Juan afore relocatin tae Washington, D.C an aw.
• Hostit twa roonds o the 2006 World Baseball Classic.^[32]
• Host o the 1974 FIBA World Championship (basketbaa).^[33]
• Haes been host o the FIBA Americas Championship five times (1980, 1993, 1999, 2003, 2009).
• The first edeetion o World Wrestling Entertainment's pey per view New Year's Revolution wis held here in Januar 2005.^[34]
• The Latin American Regional Special Olympics in Februar 2010
• Host o Major League Baseball's 2010 "San Juan Series", three gemmes o the Mets at Marlins held on 28–30 Juin 2010 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium.

The recently biggit $28-million San Juan Natatorium is beginnin tae attract islandwide an regional soum meets, as well winter trainin bi tap-ratit mainland U.S. colleges an varsities, includin the United States Military Academy at West Point an the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis.

In Julie 2007, the San Juan Golf Academy an its gowf drivin range began operatin atop the ceety's umwhile sanitar landfill in Puerto Nuevo an will eventually include the ceety's first an anerlie 9-hole gowf course.

The follaein ceeties hae been identifeed as sister ceeties bi Sister Cities International:^[39]

• Cádiz, Spain
• Cartagena, Colombie
• Honolulu, Hawaii, Unitit States
• Jacksonville, Florida, Unitit States
• Guatemala Ceety, Guatemala
• San Juan, Philippines
• Santiago, Dominican Republic

Killeen, Texas is twinned wi San Juan, Puerto Rico.^[40]

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