The Capitol of Puerto Rico (), most commonly known as El Capitolio (The Capitol), is the seat of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, responsible for the legislative branch of the government in the archipelago and island. Located in San Juan Islet, immediately outside the city walls of the Old San Juan historic quarter in the capital city and municipality of San Juan, the ocean and bayfront, white marble-cladded edifice was built in the Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style between 1921 and 1929. Architect Rafael Carmoega designed the building to resemble the Pantheon in Rome, using as inspiration the Low Memorial Library in New York City. It is part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1977.
Situated in the center of San Juan Islet in the Puerta de Tierra historic district overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the north and San Juan Bay in the south from an elevated point, the Capitol is about from both La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, in the Old San Juan historic quarter in the western end of the Islet, and the Supreme Court Building, seat of the judicial branch, in the eastern end of the Islet in Puerta de Tierra. The Court and Capitol are directly connected via Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue in the north and Juan Ponce de León Avenue in the south, both of which are directly linked to La Fortaleza via San Francisco Street in the north and Fortaleza Street in the south.
The Capitol of Puerto Rico has three combined characteristics unique in the world: the ceiling of its dome is decorated with mosaics, its exterior is cladded with marble, and its main façade is next to and faces the Atlantic Ocean.
History
Originally symbolizing self-governance in Puerto Rico as a territory of the U.S. under an insular government of elected Puerto Rican delegates and appointed American officials established by the Foraker Act of 1900, the construction of the Capitol was first introduced by autonomy supporter and Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera in 1907. Prior to the Capitol, the Legislative Assembly convened in the Palacio de la Diputación (Palace of the Deputation) in the Old San Juan historic quarter, the former seat of the Provincial Deputation of Puerto Rico, which intermittently represented the archipelago and island at the Cortes Generales or Spanish Parliament from the enactment Constitution of Cadiz in 1812 to the establishment of the Autonomous Province of Puerto Rico in 1897.
Design selection In 1907, the amount of $250,000 was allocated for the construction of the building and another $50,000 for the establishment of an international competition for a final design, which was to be divided into three principal spaces to house the Legislative Assembly, composed of the Executive Council, a precursor to the Senate composed of 11 members appointed by the President of the U.S., and the House of Delegates, a precursor to the House of Representatives composed of 35 members elected by the Puerto Rican people, and the Supreme Court, a judicial body composed of a chief justice and four associate justices appointed by the President.
By 1908, a total of 139 architectural designs were submitted in anonymity mostly from the U.S., but also from Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, and France. The evaluation of the proposals was headed by William F. Willoughby, President of the Executive Council, José de Diego, Speaker of the House and represented by Luis Muñoz Rivera, José S. Quiñones, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and Laurence Grahame, Secretary of the Interior. Three American architects also joined the commission: E.B. Homerde, John E. Howe, and Bowen Bancroft Smith. Three projects were selected, belonging to Frank E. Perkins from New York City, James H. Ritchie and Lewis B. Abbot from Boston, and Henry L. Beadle from New York City.
Neoclassical design by Perkins and Beaux-Arts design by Del Valle Zeno
The evaluating commission decided on the design summited by Perkins, which presented an austere Neoclassical style defined by simplicity, symmetry, and proportion. Comparable to state capitols in the U.S., the proposal featured a lowered dome similar to that of the ancient Roman Pantheon in Rome and a Doric portico similar to that of the ancient Greek Parthenon in Athens. The design, which south-oriented main façade on Juan Ponce de León Avenue also included an attic story, had a U-shaped layout centered around a large patio flanked on either side by wings with a double story colonnade of free standing columns that had an open view of the North Atlantic Ocean.
However, Luis Muñoz Rivera preferred a project that had been disqualified for not following the established rules of the contest by including the slogan "LEX" (meaning Law in Latin) in his submission. Created by Puerto Rican architect Rafael del Valle Zeno, who built the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico, the proposal presented an elaborate Beaux-Arts design defined by symmetry, grandiosity, and ornamentation. Similar to the CEC Palace in Bucharest and Petit Palais in Paris, the proposal featured a tall portico supported by four columns and topped with a mansard roof, short wings layered with pilasters framing rows of pedimented windows, and grand pavilions with mansard roofs and ornate decoration. The main façade of the design was oriented to the south, facing Juan Ponce de León Avenue and San Juan Bay.
In 1909, the construction rights for the design of Perkins were auctioned, with the lowest bid amounting to $314,429. Exceeding the budget available, its construction was postponed. In 1919, the Legislative Assembly appropriated the sum of $500,000 for the Capitol and directed the Secretary of the Interior, Guillermo Esteves, to proceed with the bidding for the work. Considered to be a structurally and spatially inadequate building that would exceed the budget cap, the design of Perkins was replaced in 1920.
Renaissance design by Finlayson
Francisco Roldán and Pedro de Castro, two Puerto Rican architects working in the Division of Public Buildings in the Department of Interior under the supervision of State Architect Adrian C. Finlayson, created an expansive Renaissance design defined by symmetry, proportion, and harmony. Similar to the Palazzo Farnese in Rome and the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, the proposal featured an octastyle portico under an elaborate arcade flanked on either side by long wings containing rows of windows and topped with a balustrade. Facing Juan Ponce de León Avenue and San Juan Bay, the wings continued to recessed pavilions which extended towards the north, creating a U-shaped layout centered around a large patio overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean.
In 1921, the design of Finlayson began to be constructed on a vacant plot of land located immediately outside the walls of the historic quarter of Old San Juan, overlooking the North Atlantic Ocean and San Juan Bay from an elevated point in San Juan Islet. However, its construction was halted after completion of the first level due to political instability in the main island. During this time, Finlyson, Roldán, and de Castro resigned from the project.
Neoclassical Beaux-Arts design by Carmoega
In 1925, the work was resumed under a new State Architect, Puerto Rican Rafael Carmoega who, alongside other architects, created the current design. Defined by clear symmetry, simple geometry, and minimal ornamentation like most state capitols and government buildings in the U.S., especially in the capital of Washington D.C., the austere Neoclassical Beaux-Arts design is reflective of the most used style for civic architecture in the U.S. at the time.
Carmoega retained the lowered dome and attic story proposed by Perkins and the octastyle portico with no pediment and rows of windows endorsed by Fynlayson, largely basing the building on the Low Memorial Library in New York.La Construcción del Capitolio de Puerto Rico on Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico Carmoega changed the direction of the main façade to the north to overlook the North Atlantic Ocean, adding a colonnade of freestanding columns to the recessed wings and finishing the projected pavilions only to the first floor as terraces adorned with balusters and vases.
Despite the interior not being completely finished, the Capitol was officially inaugurated on February 11, 1929, with the first meeting of the Legislative Assembly taking place three days later.
Architectural drawings The Architecture and Construction Archives at the University of Puerto Rico (AACUPR) is the custodian of the Capitol of Puerto Rico Collection (1924–1926). Approximately eight cubic feet in size, the collection contains architectural drawings, photographs and textual documents.
The original drawings, executed in ink over drawing cloth, were produced by the Department of the Interior under the supervision of Puerto Rican State Architect Rafael Carmoega. The 28 originals and 38 blue prints show plans, elevations, sections as well as electrical and plumbing distribution. There is also a proposal for the surrounding gardens by the architectural firm of Bennet, Parsons and Frost and several plates showing entries for the building competition. The collection was transferred to the AACUPR by the Capitol Superintendency in 1986.
Exterior architecture
Covering an area of with a rough length of , width of , and height of , the Capitol of Puerto Rico is an austere Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style building principally designed and built by Puerto Rican architect Rafael Carmoega from 1921 to 1929. It is largely based on the Low Memorial Library in New York City. Featuring clear symmetry, simple geometry, and minimal ornamentation like most state capitols and federal buildings in the U.S., the austere Neoclassical Beaux-Arts design is reflective of the widely used style for civic architecture in the U.S. at the time.
The layout of the building is rectangular with a principal block in the center consisting of a portico and a pendentive dome, which are flanked by a wing and a pavilion on either side. Made of concrete and steel with an exterior and inside entirely covered in 21 different types of marble, specifically 16 from Italy, 4 from continental United States, and one from Spain. It has four stories, the first being a ground floor and the last an attic story. Each story is demarcated by a row of windows, with the windows in the first floor being the only ones containing pediments. The cymatium of the cornice framing the porticos, wings, and octagonal base of the dome are decorated with a continuous palmette or anthemion motif.
The entire exterior of the building is faced with white marble from the U.S. state of Georgia.S. W. McCallie: A Preliminary Report on the Mineral Resources of Georgia. (= USGS Bulletin, No. 23), Atlanta 1926, pp. 101–102
Orientation
Situated immediately above the northern cliffs of San Juan Islet, the main façade of the Capitol is oriented to the north, facing Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue and the North Atlantic Ocean. The rear façade is oriented to the south, facing Juan Ponce de León Avenue, San Juan Bay, and the main island of Puerto Rico. The north orientation of the main façade of building symbolizes the welcoming of all visitors coming from outside of Puerto Rico, while the south orientation of the rear façade symbolizes the welcoming of all visitors within Puerto Rico.
Porticos