Mercado de las Carnes

Mercado de las Carnes (English: Meat Market), also known as La Plaza de los Perros[4] (English: Dogs' Plaza), but formally, Plaza Juan Ponce de León (Juan Ponce de León Plaza), was the first building in Puerto Rico to mix social and architectural elements via the pedestrian mall concept.[5] The historic Art Deco architecture structure is located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and dates from 1926. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.[3] The Plaza was rebuilt in 1992, under the administration of Mayor Churumba.[6] It is located in the alley connecting Mayor and Leon streets, in the block between Estrella and Guadalupe streets. The Plaza and the alley are one and the same.

Plaza Juan Ponce de León
Former names	Mercado de las carnes
Alternative names	Plaza de los perros[1]
General information
Status	Open
Type	Colonial
Architectural style	Art Deco, Neo-mudejar
Location	C. Leon and C. Mayor, between C. Estrella and C. Guadalupe
Address	40 Calle León[2]
Town or city	Barrio Quinto, Ponce
Country	Puerto Rico
Coordinates	18.015477°N 66.612878°W
Current tenants	Artisans
Named for	Juan Ponce de León
Opened	1926
Client	Shopkeepers
Owner	Ponce Municipal Government
Technical details
Floor count	1
Floor area	942 square metres (10,140 sq ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Rafael Carmoega
Designations	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Known for	First pedestrian mall in Puerto Rico
Other information
Number of rooms	33 shops[2]
Parking	Ponce Servicios[1]

Mercado de las Carnes
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Main entrance to Ponce's Historic Meat Market
Location of Ponce and the mercado in Puerto Rico
Location	Alley connecting Mayor and Leon Streets, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Coordinates	18°00′56″N 66°36′46″W
Area	942 square metres (10,140 sq ft)
Built	1926
Architect	Rafael Carmoega
Architectural style	Art Deco, Neo-mudejar
NRHP reference No.	86003199[3]
Added to NRHP	17 November 1986

History

Ponce's Plaza de los Perros (English: Plaza of the Dogs), receives its name from the packs of stray dogs that gathered there to feed on the discarded meat scraps. A product of the rapid urban growth experienced in the city during the early 20th century, the Plaza was built in 1926 to relieve the overcrowded farmer's market ("Plaza del Mercado") and provide an adequate market place for perishable meat products.[5]

Significance

Located across the street from the historic Plaza del Mercado (Farmer's Market) the Plaza de los Perros serves as an urbanistic and commercial complement to the market place. Occupying a long, narrow lot, previously belonging to two back-to-back structures, the meat market connects two of Ponce's busiest commercial streets, Mayor and Leon, providing mid-block circulation to the main market by means of the pedestrian mall concept so popular today. Of significance is the adaptation of such innovative concepts to traditional social and architectural elements (the farmers' market and Moorish detailing), representing the contemporary modernistic trends in architecture. The double-function of such a traditional space was an innovation in Ponce and in Puerto Rico as a whole.[5]

Of great importance is that the building's design bears the signature of Rafael Carmoega, one of the most established Puerto Rican architects of the 20th century. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture and subsequent director of the Architectural division of Puerto Rico's Department of the Interior, Carmoega also designed the Capitol Building, the University of Puerto Rico Main Campus at Rio Piedras, the School of Tropical Medicine, and the Mayaguez City Hall, all listed on the National Register, in addition to other significant buildings. In his interest to preserve Hispanic traditions in the wake of the recent change of sovereignty from Spain to the United States, Carmoega utilized the Spanish Baroque and Neo-Mudejar vocabularies in his designs, emphasizing the use of glazed, mosaic tiles in many buildings. The Plaza de los Perros is a fine example of this latter style, incorporating glazed mosaics, horseshoe arches, and galleries in a mosque-like space for commercial usage.[5]

Physical appearance

Overall

Interior of the Plaza Juan Ponce de León (a.k.a., "Plaza de los Perros") meat market in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The old "Mercado de las Carnes", or Meat Market, occupies a narrow through-lot connecting Mayor and Leon streets at the center of the block between Estrella and Guadalupe streets. In plan, the concrete, wood, and sheet-metal structure consists of an elongated quadrangle created by galleries opening onto an attenuated interior court. The neo-mudejar and Art Deco decorative facades appear to be independent of the actual utilitarian structure inside, as they shift slightly in opposite direction off the central court axis to accommodate the mall.[7]

Façade

The east and west facades are identical, each consisting of a rectangular mass of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in height and 30 in width, which defines the major façade element. This rectangle is divided into five ground-storey bays: a series of three central bays flanked by slightly narrower wall areas. The bays are defined by a series of four vertical buttress-like piers which extend slightly above the ridge of the building.[7]

Entryways

The three central bays form the frontispiece of the facade, each of similar dimensions and created as an access to the interior court. Each bay contains a horseshoe arch approximately one-half the height of the facade and almost the full width of the bay. Above each arch, a decorative spandrel panel contains glazed mosaic tiles in intricate Moorish patterns. Within each bay, a horizontal band stretching between the concrete piers separates the spandrel area from the parapet above. The parapet is completely solid above the central bay, whereas the parapets of the flanking bays are articulated with open, semi-circular concrete forms. At this level, the concrete piers are decorated with vertical rectangular panels of glazed multi-colored mosaic tiles.[7]

The bays flanking the frontispiece are solid and without articulation, although the southern bay has been punctured at ground level by wide, wooden doors as access to a street-side refreshments stand. A concrete cantilever shades the entrance and a vertical sign above announces the name of each business.[7]

Interior

At the interior court, a series of simplified, square, Tuscan columns creates a gallery enclosing individual market areas within each bay. The stoa-like galleries are sheltered by a wood and sheet-metal roof pitched inward toward the court. Additional continuous wood and sheet-metal eaves, stemming from the colonnade and suspended by link-chains from the architrave provide shelter within the court for those doing their shopping.[7]

Alterations

This property has remained basically unaltered all elements described contribute to the structure's value. The only alteration is the refreshments stands' sign and the covering of the upper part of the stand's arch which are non-contributing elements.[7]

Effect of 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes

The roof of the structure was damaged due to the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes and Plaza Juan Ponce de Leon had to be closed for repairs. As a result, vendors had to vacate their shops and remove their merchandise. Provisional repairs were announced to take approximately two weeks, after which merchants could then move back in. Municipal government plans were to prepare plans for a more permanent restoration of the roof at a later date.[8]

References

1. Inyectan nueva vida a la Plaza Juan Ponce de León: El panorama de sus locales vacíos también ha comenzado a cambiar, gracias a la inyección de sangre nueva: una nueva cepa de emprendedores que ha decidido repoblarlos con propuestas fascinantes, atractivas e, incluso, deliciosas. Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 20 June 2018. Accessed 21 January 2020.
2. Expondrán arte en la Plaza Juan Ponce de León de la Ciudad Señorial. Voces del Sur. 31 July 2019. Accessed 21 January 2020.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 13 March 2009.
4. Viaje al pasado sin salir de Ponce. Carmen Cila Rodríguez. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 30. Issue 1468. Page 20. 18 January 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
5. Joaquin Acevedo Cruz, State Architect, and Felix Julian del Campo, State Historian. (PR SHPO). Certified by Mariano G. Coronas Castro, State Historic Preservation Officer, State Historic Preservation Office, San Juan, PR. March 1986. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Mercado de las Carnes. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 3. Listing Reference Number 86003199. 16 November 1986.
6. MundoBoricua Archived 15 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine List of Ponce Attractions by the Director. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
7. Joaquin Acevedo Cruz, State Architect, and Felix Julian del Campo, State Historian. (PR SHPO). Certified by Mariano G. Coronas Castro, State Historic Preservation Officer, State Historic Preservation Office, San Juan, PR. March 1986. In National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form – Mercado de las Carnes. United States Department of the Interior. National Park Service. (Washington, D.C.) Page 2. Listing Reference Number 86003199. 16 November 1986.
8. Anuncian mejoras provisionales a la Plaza Juan Ponce de León en Ponce. Michelle Estrada Torres. Voces del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 21 January 2020. Accessed 21 January 2020.

See also

• Plaza de Mercado de Ponce
• La Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, Vol XIX, "Arquitectura y Leyes", Editorial Rumbo, Madrid. 1976.
• Acevedo Cruz, Joaquin. Conservacion: Area de la Plaza del Mercado de Ponce. Escuela de Arquitectura U.P.R., 1982 (unpublished).

External links

• National Register of Historic Places photographic file