# Timeline of San Juan, Puerto Rico

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

## 16th–18th centuries

* 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.