1
CIIC INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL ROUTES
CIIC COMITÉ INTERNACIONAL DE ITINERARIOS CULTURALES
CIIC COMITÉ INTERNATIONAL DES ITINÉRAIRES CULTURELS
INVENTORY RECORD
for
BASTIONED FORTIFICATIONS
USE ADDITIONAL SHEETS IF NECESSARY TO EXTEND EACH SECTION
DESIGNATION:
Wall Defensive System
LOCATION:
The wall defensive system constitutes a unit of the San Juan Historic Site which comprises the principal
fortifications associated with the city of Old San Juan and El Cañuelo situated at Cabras island in the west
side of the San Juan bay. The city of Old San Juan is located on the 615 acre San Juan area. The
monument area under the jurisdiction of the National Park Services comprises 75 acres which includes 2.5
miles of stone walls, the fortifications of El Morro and San Cristóbal, and the 3.4 acre fort of El Cañuelo in
Cabra’s island.
COUNTRY:
Puerto Rico, USA
GEOGRAPHIC AREA:
(State, Community or Region, Province, Municipality, etc.)
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
MAP OF LOCATION
MAIN HISTORIC DATA
DATE OF CONSTRUCTION (Exact date or period and other additional remarks if necessary)
1540-1790
BUILDER (Military engineer, master mason, technical architect)
As a result of its continuos development it is difficult to determine the military engineer who lay out the
first foundations of the walls. Despite this, we have documentation that indicates that engineers Thomas O’
Daly and Juan Francisco Maestre were responsible of the expansion and improvement of the wall defensive
system of San Juan in the 18th century.
Paseo de la Castellana, 12- 4º.- 28046 Madrid (España) Tel (0034) 91 4352200 Fax 91 5776318
consejo.inter@arquinex.es
2
TYPE OF BUILDING (Bastioned fortress, walls, coastal or field batteries, hornworks, bastions, etc.)
Walls
FUNCTION WITHIN DEFENSIVE SYSTEM (Defense of river mouth, entry to port channels,
mountains, higher ground, jungle, etc.)
City walls were first constructed along the south side of Old San Juan during the early 1600s and were
completed within four years. The northern walls were not built until the 18 th century. Various gates along
the wall provided access to the fortified city.
CULTURAL AND HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE (Role in regional defense strategy, defense of port
cities, etc., including relationship with other historic fortifications belonging to same defensive
system, etc. Related historic events, etc.)
The walls defensive system constitutes a key element in the San Juan military defense system that consisted
of the walls that surrounds the city, Fort San Cristóbal, and Fort El Cañuelo. With other fortifications
located in Mexico, Cuba, and Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, this military structure formed an
impressive defense ring that protect the interests of the Spanish empire in the Caribbean area against enemy
nations for almost three centuries.
MAIN CONSTRUCTION STAGES
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Initial construction of walls in the west side of the island: 1537-1619
1630-1660: city walls facing west, south, and east were rebuilt and extended as a result of the Dutch
attack of 1625
1760s-1790s: As a result of the Bourbons Reforms San Juan is proclaimed as a “first order” Defense
system and an extensive plan for expansion and improvement of the walls are executed. North wall
section of the system is constructed, totally surrounding the city.
19th century reforms: Period of repairs and maintenance of the wall system
American Tenure: 1898-present: Initially integrated to Fort Brooke defensive system and later transfer
to the National Park Service.
BUILDING MATERIALS
The wall system of San Juan is mainly constructed of rough sedimentary rock blocks laid in courses from
18 to 24 inches high backed up by smaller pieces of rocks and bricks, the joints being wide and filled-in
with smaller pieces of rocks and mortar made of brick dust, clayey sand and lime.
PRESERVATION
STATE OF PRESERVATION (Good, fair, poor. Specify)
Good
OWNERSHIP AND CURRENT STATUS (Owned by ..., abandoned, etc. Specify)
Most of the wall system is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior National Park Service with
the exception of the portion from the San Juan gate (west wall) to the end of El Paseo La Princesa (south
Wall.
AUTHENTICITY (Superimposed forms, materials and building techniques, as appropriate)
Throughout the centuries the wall defensive system has been experiencing changes in its structure due to
the expansion of its defensive capabilities and the maintenance work to preserve it in optimal conditions.
Nowistanding this, this changes did not altered the authenticity of its structures.
INTEGRITY (Partially lost or rebuilt sections, etc.)
In 1897 a portion of the wall was demolished to expand the city limits of San Juan. At the present 95% of
the wall defensive system maintain its structural integrity remains virtually intact and in good condition.
Paseo de la Castellana, 12- 4º.- 28046 Madrid (España) Tel (0034) 91 4352200 Fax 91 5776318
consejo.inter@arquinex.es
3
LEGAL PROTECTION AND RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATION (Local, regional, national,
worldwide)
The federal government of the United States has delegated the administration of san Cristóbal to the
National Park Service. The State Preservation Office of the commonwealth of Puerto Rico work closely
with the National Park Service in the evaluation of the preservation projects to be implemented in the Fort.
In 1984 the UNESCO designated the Fort as a World Heritage Site.
PROTECTION BY SOCIETY (High, medium, low)
High
CURRENT USE (Military, museum, historic site, dwelling, etc.)
The National Park Service and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico administer the wall defensive system as
a historic site. A pedestrian walkway has been constructed in the west portion of the wall for recreational
and educational purposes.
ENVIRONMENT (Urban, industrial, countryside, etc.)
Urban
PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT (Sufficient, insufficient. Specify)
National Park Service has deployed a number of environmental measures to protect the integrity of the
structure under its administration. The historic site monuments are continuously exposed to tropical
weather conditions, water vapor, invasive vegetation, human impact and catastrophic damage. In general
terms we can agree that sufficient environmental measures has been taken so far. Despite this, there is a lot
of work to do to improve and expand the existing ones.
ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION (High, medium, low, none)
Due to its exposure to the Tropical weather the environmental degradation is high and constant therefore
the maintenance measures to protect this monument have to be constant in order to preserve its enjoyment
to future generations.
Paseo de la Castellana, 12- 4º.- 28046 Madrid (España) Tel (0034) 91 4352200 Fax 91 5776318
consejo.inter@arquinex.es