Old san juan fort: Exploring Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan

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March 20, 2023
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Our Staff & Offices – San Juan National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)

Superintendent

The superintendent of San Juan National Historic Site is the top park official, responsible for managing and supervising all park operations and activities. The superintendent’s office includes the deputy superintendent, management specialist, and all divisions described below.

Maintenance Division

The NPS maintenance staff at San Juan hosts the Historic Preservation Program. The preservation masons work daily to take care of the fortifications in a variety of ways. With more than two-and-a-half miles of fortress walls and three forts to maintain, the preservation of the site is a continual effort. The Spanish military built San Juan’s defenses primarily of sandstone, lime, and brick. The NPS staff has had to learn the traditional construction techniques used in the original construction of the forts. They must use these historic methods because modern materials, such as cement, are incompatible with the old structures and can ultimately cause damage to the historic fabric. After extensive research, NPS masons have learned that the Spanish used four basic types of mortar to bind the construction materials and to cover exterior surfaces. Today masons use mortar mixes comprised of lime, sand, water, and crushed brick along with traditional application techniques that are based on the original used by the Spanish.

Facilities Management Division

The Facilities Management Division maintains all roads, trails, buildings, utilities, grounds, vehicles, and other physical facilities in the park to assure their safe use. The facility staff works closely with the city of San Juan in the coordination of activities and events.

Administration Division

San Juan National Historic Site (SAJU) Administrative Division strives to operate a cost-efficient, customer-oriented service whose actions are transparent to the Division Chiefs and Employees resulting in innovative solutions and quality results for a government that effectively serves the San Juan National Historic Site. Furthermore, SAJU Administrative Division is responsible for planning, developing and executing a comprehensive range of administrative services that support San Juan National Historic Site operations. These services include overseeing the park’s budget allocation and executions, providing comprehensive personnel services to employees, maintaining information technology systems, coordinating automated recruitment and personnel support, procuring supplies and equipment, and managing property, housing and facilities four separate divisions.

Cultural Resources Management Division

The Cultural Resources Management Division works with the conservation of the park’s museum and archival collections, and the park’s library; the evaluation of research proposals; historic research; the compliance documentation related to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966; and the documentation of historic resources for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, among other things. The park houses a museum and archival collection that has more than 550,000 objects that are available for research. The park library has more than 3,000 books also available for research. Researchers need to make an appointment to access the collections.

Interpretation, Education & Fees Division

The Division of Interpretation, Education and Fees provides orientation, information, and educational programs to visitors and students from all over the world. Park Guides and Rangers will welcome you to Castillo San Felipe del Morro and San Cristobal and help you have a safe, enjoyable visit. The history and heritage of this Spanish defensive system spans centuries, and they will help you get a better understanding of the stories and the old masonry structures featured here.

Last updated: January 30, 2020

So Beautiful! – Around the World “L”

The iconic sentry boxes of San Juan’s forts are featured on the Puerto Rico license plate.

“You’ve GOT to see the forts in Puerto Rico!”

Anyone will gush this when you ask what to do in Old San Juan during travel through Puerto Rico. But WHY, exactly, are these forts so famous and popular? What is it like to visit, and what are tips for making your time in these stone structures enjoyable? Read on…

Our family loved the forts of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

History: Why Did Puerto Rico Need Forts?

The background you must understand is that Puerto Rico was incredibly important, geopolitically. The island was a vital strategic base from the 16th through 18th century as Spain battled with other European powers for colonial control of the region.

Whoever held Puerto Rico controlled the “door” to the Caribbean, Central America, Cuba, Mexico, the southeastern United States, northern South America… and all the riches therein.

A view of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, facing the Santa Maria Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery.

La

Fortaleza and San Felipe del Morro

Spain colonized Puerto Rico in 1493, launched by Christopher Columbus and furthered by the bloody efforts of Ponce de Leon. It soon became clear to Spain, however, that the rest of Europe lusted for this island.

To protect it, in the 1530s, the Spanish king ordered construction of two forts: La Fortaleza (not pictured here because it is the official residence now of Puerto Rico’s governor), and San Felipe del Morro.

Brightly colored houses face the forts and the ocean.

British and Dutch

Attack the Spanish Forts

In the centuries after these forts were constructed, Puerto Rico was attacked repeatedly by the British, and by the Dutch as well. (You may remember the Dutch from such Caribbean conquests as Curacao.) Spain retained control of the island, but there were many very close calls, fires, explosions, and casualties.

The Spanish realized they needed another fort: one that would protect against attacks by land as well as by sea.

One of the famous sentry boxes in Castillo de San Cristóbal, Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Castillo de

San Cristobal: to Protect San Juan

In 1793, the Spanish completed the fort called Castillo de San Cristóbal, essentially wrapping the city of San Juan in a protective embrace of stone walls and towers.

The structure sprawls for acres, and remains the largest fortification ever built by Spain in the New World.

Pretty parks face the forts as you get closer to the heart of Old San Juan’s narrow streets.

The Forts

Didn’t Protect Against the U.S.

The forts kept the island under Spanish control… until the Spanish-American war in 1898, when the U.S. took over Puerto Rico. It wasn’t the fault of the forts, though!

Rather than attack at San Juan, United States forces slipped into Puerto Rico from the small southwestern town of Guánica and took over the island from the inside.

Castillo de San Cristóbal is a huge stone hunk!

Puerto Rico’s Forts Become a

Tourist Attraction

So what about now? The hulking forts that were meant to keep Spanish rule safe are now under control of the United States National Park Service (the same one that cares for Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado!), and are toured by countless visitors each day. This begs the question: What is it like to visit these famous forts?

This fort-side basketball court has the coolest location ever.

Timing: When to Visit San Juan’s Forts

As I mentioned in my previous article about touring the beautiful colored streets of Old San Juan, it is SO HOT in San Juan during the middle of the day. This issue is multiplied by the fact that both forts have large, open fields which essentially become frying pans.

Even with hats, sunscreen, and water, we had to give up our 1pm visit within half an hour and come back the next day after 4pm. Remember that the forts are about a mile apart and also span a lot of ground themselves, so budget enough time for everything, take it slow, and don’t beat yourself up if you can’t see every inch.

Yay for Old San Juan, Puerto Rico!

Getting to the Forts, and Going

Inside

There are reasonably-priced parking lots near the entrances to both forts, and public transport goes there, too, as do cabs of course. There is a LOT of the forts that you can see without paying the small adult entrance fee (kids are free), and all of these photos were taken without actually entering the paid inner part of the forts.

One thing I loved about the area was that it is full of locals flying kites on the high sea winds and playing with their kids. Kudos to the National Park Service for making the park so welcoming to everyone!

The streets around the forts are beautiful.

Don’t Miss these Famous Puerto Rico Forts!

These historic forts in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, are truly special to see. Our family now has a photo hanging up in our living room of us in front of Castillo de San Cristóbal. It’s things like this that you remember!

Inspired by these historic buildings? See more historic architecture and art inspiration here.

Everyone traveling to Puerto Rico craves a shot like this!

Hotels and Rentals

in Old San Juan and Puerto Rico

To save you time, I did the search already, so you can just click these affiliate links here for San Juan hotel deals, click here for the best Puerto Rico hotels, and bop right over here for beautiful Puerto Rico vacation rentals. A small commission goes to support this site at no extra cost to you, so thanks in advance, and happy travels!

Lillie Marshall

The author, Lillie Marshall, is a 6-foot-tall National Board Certified Teacher of English, fitness fan, and mother of two who has been a public school educator since 2003. She launched Around the World “L” Travel and Life Blog in 2009, and over 4.2 million readers have now visited this site. Lillie also runs TeachingTraveling.com and DrawingsOf.com. Subscribe to her monthly newsletter, and follow @WorldLillie on social media!

EL Colonial Adults Only, San Juan

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You can get a Genius Discount at EL Colonial Adults Only! To save on this property, just sign in.

EL Colonial Adults Only is located in San Juan, 2.3 km from Escambron Beach. It offers allergy-free rooms, a bar, free Wi-Fi and a terrace. The hotel offers express check-in and check-out. The hotel is close to several well-known attractions, within 500 meters of Old San Juan Organic Farmers Market, San Juan Museum and Ponce de Leon Statue. The front desk is open 24/7. Guests can make use of concierge services and luggage storage. nine0013

The rooms come with a desk, a flat-screen TV, a private bathroom, bed linen and towels. All rooms at EL Colonial adults-only hotel are air conditioned and have a wardrobe.

Nearby are San Felipe del Morro Fort, San Juan Old Town and San Juan Marina. The nearest airport is Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, 12 km from EL Colonial Adults Only.

Couples especially like the location – they rated accommodation in the area for a trip as a couple 9.8 .

EL Colonial Adults Only has been welcoming Booking.com guests since 7 Apr. 2021.

Distance in description calculated using © OpenStreetMap

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Free WiFi

Pets allowed

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24 hour front desk

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Great Location: Highly rated by recent guests (9. 8)

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Do they have an elevator?
This is a small boutique hotel in the heart of a 500 year old city. We do not have an elevator, the building is only stairs. If mobility is a problem, don’t stop. Q&A says all reg. guests get a free open bar for the duration of their stay but my booking says..
The bar and hotel facilities are exclusively for registered guests. The bar is always available and open to all registered guests. Og..
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Good afternoon, we want to visit your hotel, we have a small maltese dog 5 pounds, what additional payment will be required?
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The UBER app is available and secure in the PR metro area.
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EL Colonial Adults Only takes special requests – add them in the next step

check in

16:00 – 00:00

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10:30 – 11:00

Online check-in available

Here you can check in online before arrival. This way you will spend less time at the check-in desk and will be able to check-in faster when you arrive. nine0013

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Children are not allowed.

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No extra beds or cots available.

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Minimum entry age: 18 years old

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EL Colonial Adults Only accepts these cards and reserves the right to temporarily hold an amount prior to arrival.

1637890 | 3,1639390,1649630,1625600,1652060 | 4,1652060,1637890,1645260,1648900 | 1.1648900,1649670,1645260 | 2

CASTILLO SAN CRISTOBAL: 225 years ago … 225 years ago 06:00 am

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Castillo San Cristobal: 225 years ago…

Castillo San Cristobal is a fort in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The fort, with its sprawling outer walls, was built over 150 years to protect El Morro and the city from land attacks. nine0025 Spread over 11 hectares, San Cristobal is the largest fortification built by the Spanish in the New World.

01. Welcome

Inspired by rivals England and Holland, Irish-born chief engineer Thomas O’Daley designed this castle. Thomas O’Daley served Spain because Spain was the enemy of Ireland’s enemy, England. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Being younger, Fort San Cristobal has a shorter history than El Morro. The first part was built in 1634, after an attack in 1625 that exposed weaknesses in the defenses of Old San Juan. Then it was decided to build a new fortress on a high place in the north-eastern part of the city

Between 1765 and 1783 the fort took on the shape we see it today. Fort San Cristobal is a huge structure that rises 45 meters above sea level. With the defenses of El Morro, Fort San Cristobal, with its massive walls around the entire city, made San Juan almost inaccessible to attack.

In 1797 there was another attack on the city by the British. But this attack was stopped before they reached San Cristobal. In 1855, the soldiers living in the fort led a mutiny in San Cristobal against the Spanish crown. The rebellion was extinguished in just 24 hours. nine0013

As time went on, Old San Juan outgrew its walls. The city needed to expand. In 1897, a significant part of the huge city wall was demolished – from Fort San Cristobal to the harbor – to allow better traffic flow to/from the city.

In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, Puerto Rico, under attack from US Navy ships, tried to resist, but the old cannons and forts could not withstand the attack. Six months later, Puerto Rico became a territory of the United States. The US continued to use the fort as an active military base. At 1942, during the Second World War, an underground bunker with a control center and an observation post were added.

In 1983 the fort was listed as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations.

02. Historic entrance to the Fort

03. Main entrance now

04. Large spacious lawns to the east of the fort. Here you can see the line of defense: ditches, walls and iguanas.

05. Hello

06.

07. Plaza. The yellow annex is chapel

08./09. Tunnel system – they are long dark and cool. One of them leads to the dungeon.

10./11. Chapel of Saint Barbara in the central square of San Cristobal. She is the patron of people in case of fires or explosions. Gunners prayed for her intercession before shooting

12.

13. Residential areas

14. Drama over San Juan

15./16.

17./18.

19.

20.

21./22.

23.

24. The second level with the main weapons battery

25.

26.

27. Pushnoye nuclei – real cannon nuclei 90 kg every (200 pounds?)

28 28. One can see Garita – guard posts located along the entire perimeter of the outer walls.

29. Inside this building is a museum with the history of San Cristobal and the history of military uniforms

30.

31.

32. All San Juan as in the palms of

33.

34. Handsome El Morro

35. Lower level – Plasa

9ATH 37.

38./39. To date, three flags have flown over the fort: the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Cross of Burgundy.