Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín (tomb)

Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín

Image of the monument
Coordinates	18°00′47.7714″N, -66° 37' 58.2954"W
Location	Cementerio Civil, Barrio Portugues Urbano, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Designer	Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti
Type	Tomb, obelisk, and statue
Material	Stucco and Concrete
Length	approx 40 feet
Width	approx 40 feet
Height	approx. 50 feet
Beginning date	ca. 1904 (source: the monument's front plaque)
Completion date	1911
Opening date	1911
Dedicated to	The "El Polvorin" fire heroes
Note: This monument is not the same as the obelisk at Plaza Las Delicias. Both are dedicated to the same group of men.

The Monumento a los heroes de El Polvorín (Monument to the "El Polvorín" fire heroes) is a mausoleum monument in Ponce, Puerto Rico, dedicated to the seven firefighters and one civilian who subdued the flames of the "El Polvorin" fire on the night of 25 January 1899.

The monument is located in the Cementerio Civil de Ponce (Ponce Civil Cemetery), in barrio Portugues Urbano, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Its coordinates are N 18.01327 W 66.63286 (18° 0' 47.7714" N, 66° 37' 58.2954" W).

On 25 January 1899, a large fire (later dubbed "El Polvorin") threatened the lives of Ponceños, as well as the economy of Puerto Rico as a whole, given Ponce's de facto role as Puerto Rico's banking and agricultural capital. A painting inside Parque de Bombas commemorates the heroic acts of seven valiant "bomberos" and one civilian who fought bravely against the voracious fire that threatened the region. Disobeying orders from the American troops that had recently taken control of Puerto Rico, the group was able to appease the flames that had started inside the U.S. Army’s gunpowder reserves. Due to their courageous efforts, disaster was narrowly averted. For their heroic valor and success, the group was honored many times both in Ponce and the rest of Puerto Rico. The mausoleum was built to keep their remains in the after life and honor their memory. Buried in the tomb are the seven firefighters and one civilian who fought the fire. Also buried are 60 other Ponce firemen that have since qualified to be buried there.

The mausoleum was built in 1911. This monument is different from the obelisk unveiled in 1948 and on display at Plaza Las Delicias, which is also dedicated to the same group of men. The obelisk and statue portions of this mausoleum were rebuilt in 2011, at the 100th anniversary of the original obelisk, statue and mausoleum (1911), and uncovered in time for its 101st anniversary, on 25 January 2012. The monument had been rebuilt in the 1950s and was rebuilt again in 2011-2012. The 2011-2012 restoration was performed by plastic arts artist Ramón Rivera Cáliz, director of the Secretaría de Arte y Cultura (Office of Arts and Culture) of the Municipality of Ponce. For this and many other contributions in the city of Ponce, on 12 December 2013, Rivera Cáliz was honored with a ceremony and added to the list of illustrious Ponce citizens at the Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens in Ponce's Tricentennial Park.