Parque de Bombas
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Parque de Bombas de Ponce
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Parque de Bombas firehouse museum
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 Location of Ponce and the Parque de Bombas in Puerto Rico
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| Location |
Plaza Las Delicias Ponce, Puerto Rico |
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| Coordinates | 18°00′43″N 66°36′49″W / 18.011905°N 66.613738°WCoordinates: 18°00′43″N 66°36′49″W / 18.011905°N 66.613738°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1882 |
| Architect | Maximo de Meana y Guridi |
| Architectural style | Gothic Revival, Victorian, Moorish Revival |
| NRHP Reference # | 84003150 |
| Added to NRHP | July 12, 1984 |
| Established | 1990 |
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| Location | Plaza Las Delicias, Ponce, Puerto Rico |
| Type | History museum |
| Owner | Autonomous Municipality of Ponce |
The Parque de Bombas (English: firehouse) is a historic firehouse building in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is one of Puerto Rico's most notable buildings, with some considering it "by far the most easily recognized landmark in the Island." It is located at the Plaza Las Delicias town square, directly behind the Ponce Cathedral. The building housed the city's main fire station for many years, and it is now a museum. Its name comes from the mobile hand-pumped fire fighting units the building once housed. It has been heralded both for its historical and architectural roles in Puerto Rican society. It was Puerto Rico's first ever fire station. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 12, 1984.
The structure was built as the main exhibit pavilion for the 1882 Exhibition Trade Fair. A Spanish Army soldier, Lt. Colonel Maximo de Meana y Guridi who happened to be a professional architect, was commissioned in Puerto Rico at the time. The Madrid-based central government assigned Meana the task of designing and constructing the building. The building was unveiled during the 1882 Ponce World Fair. The festival's participants used the building as its main pavilion. The first brigade of firemen to work in the building were stationed on 2 February 1883.
Major fires took place in the city on February 27, 1820, and again in March 1845.Meana became mayor of Ponce in 1882, and in 1885, the station went on to become Ponce's official fire station. Thus every firefighting operation in Ponce and adjacent towns was dispatched from the Parque de Bombas.
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