Internet Resources for Architecture and Urban Design in the Caribbean
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Caribe Hilton Hotel
San Juan Puerto Rico, 1949
Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa
Exhibition by AACUPR
in English and Spanish
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View from the historic San Gerónimo Fort ¥ View from covereded walkway
Stairway to casino and club ¥ Corridor to lobby and reception
Presidential Suite ¥ Guestroom
The year of 1945 brought significant changes to the international order. The winds of war had not diminished when another era began, characterized simultaneously by material prosperity and nuclear threat. Humankind required, as soon as possible, the joys of a good life. Allied victory found Puerto Rico in the midst of profound social transformations and great hopes. Important initiatives for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico were begun, and, for the first time in almost fifty years, a Puerto Rican governor had been appointed by the President of the United States. Industrial take-off had begun with the famous Operation Bootstrap.
The industrialization of Puerto RicoÕs most prized resources: its people, climate and beaches, offered the Government of Puerto Rico an important avenue for the development of the country. Even though tourism already constituted a source of income for the state, the post-war expectations made it necessary to revise existing facilities and to modernize the tourist industry in order to fulfill its new role. For Puerto Rico, tourism was an ideal industry since it was Òan industry without factories, without problems of assemblage and without machinery.Ó
In early 1946, a design competition was celebrated to select the design of the new and important hotel. The only requirements of the competition were that the hotel have 300 bedrooms, the necessary ancillary facilities and that it would be located adjacent to the San Gerónimo Fortification in Puerta de Tierra. Three architectural firms in Puerto Rico were invited (all newly created): Schimmelpfennig, Ruiz y González, The Office of Henry Klumb and Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa. Two additional firms from the States were also invited to participate: Frederick G. Seelman from Palm Beach and Robert Swartburg from Miami Beach. These two firms submitted designs in the style of the Spanish Renaissance, while the three firms in Puerto Rico presented modern designs inspired in the international style.
The winning design was submitted by Toro Ferrer and Torregrosa, a building of modern architectural expression. In the words of Teodoro Moscoso: a hotel that would emphasize the aspects of good old USA of the Puerto Rican situation –the modern and efficient– more than the curious and picturesque.
From the exhibition panels
Caribe Hilton ¥ Residencia Rodríguez ¥ Oficinas Legislativas ¥ Corte Suprema
Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa 1945-1955
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