Mercado de las Carnes
Encyclopedia
Mercado de las Carnes also known as La Plaza de los Perros (English: Dogs' Plaza), but formally, Plaza Juan Ponce de Leon, was the first building in Puerto Rico to mix social and architectural elements via the pedestrian mall
concept. The historic Art Deco
architecture structure is located in Ponce, Puerto Rico
, and dates from 1926. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1986. The Plaza was rebuilt in 1992, under the administration of Mayor Churumba. It is located in the alley connecting Mayor and Leon streets, in the block between Estrella and Guadalupe streets. The Plaza and the alley are one and the same.
concept so popular today. Of significance is the adaptation of such innovative concepts to traditional social and architectural elements (the farmers' market and Moorish detailing), representing the contemporary modernistic trends in architecture. The double-function of such a traditional space was an innovation in Ponce and in Puerto Rico as a whole.
Of great importance is that the building's design bears the signature of Rafael Carmoega
, one of the most established Puerto Rican architects of the 20th century. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture
and subsequent director of the Architectural division of Puerto Rico's Department of the Interior, Carmoega also designed the Capitol Building
, the University of Puerto Rico Main Campus at Rio Piedras
, the School of Tropical Medicine
, and the Mayaguez City Hall
, all listed on the National Register, in addition to other significant buildings. In his interest to preserve Hispanic traditions in the wake of the recent change of sovereignty from Spain
to the United States
, Carmoega utilized the Spanish Baroque
and Neo-Mudejar
vocabularies in his designs, emphasizing the use of glazed, mosaic
tiles in many buildings. The Plaza de los Perros is a fine example of this latter style, incorporating glazed mosaics, horseshoe arches, and galleries
in a mosque
-like space for commercial usage.
and Art Deco
decorative facades appear to be independent of the actual utilitarian structure inside, as they shift slightly in opposite direction off the central court axis to accommodate the mall.
element. This rectangle is divided into five ground-storey bays: a series of three central bays flanked by slightly narrower wall areas. The bays are defined by a series of four vertical buttress-like piers which extend slightly above the ridge of the building.
of the facade, each of similar dimensions and created as an access to the interior court. Each bay contains a horseshoe arch approximately one-half the height of the facade and almost the full width of the bay. Above each arch, a decorative spandrel
panel contains glazed mosaic tiles in intricate Moorish patterns. Within each bay, a horizontal band stretching between the concrete piers separates the spandrel area from the parapet above. Above the central bay, the parapet
is completely solid, whereas the parapets of the flanking bays are articulated with open, semi-circular concrete forms. At this level, the concrete piers are decorated with vertical rectangular panels of glazed multi-colored mosaic tiles.
The bays flanking the frontispiece
are solid and unarticulated, although the southern bay has been punctured at ground level by wide, wooden doors as access to a street-side refreshments stand. A concrete cantilever
shades the entrance and a vertical sign above announces the business’ name.
columns creates a gallery enclosing individual market areas within each bay. The stoa-like galleries are sheltered by a wood and sheet-metal roof pitched inward toward the court. Additional continuous wood and sheet-metal eaves, stemming from the colonnade
and suspended by link-chains from the architrave
provide shelter within the court for those doing their shopping.
Pedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
concept. The historic Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architecture structure is located in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, and dates from 1926. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1986. The Plaza was rebuilt in 1992, under the administration of Mayor Churumba. It is located in the alley connecting Mayor and Leon streets, in the block between Estrella and Guadalupe streets. The Plaza and the alley are one and the same.
History
Ponce's Plaza de los Perros (English: Plaza of the Dogs), receives its name from the packs of stray dogs that gathered there to feed on the discarded meat scraps. A product of the rapid urban growth experienced in the city during the early 20th century, the Plaza was built in 1926 to relieve the overcrowded farmer's market ("Plaza del Mercado") and provide an adequate market place for perishable meat products.Significance
Located across the street from the old Plaza del Mercado (Farmer's Market) the Plaza de los Perros serves as an urbanistic and commercial compliment to the market place. Occupying a long, narrow lot, previously belonging to two back-to-back structures, the meat market connects two of Ponce's busiest commercial streets, Mayor and Leon, providing mid-block circulation to the main market by means of the pedestrian mallPedestrian mall
Pedestrian malls in the United States are also known as pedestrian streets and are the most common form of pedestrian zone in large cities in the United States. It is a street lined with storefronts and closed off to most automobile traffic...
concept so popular today. Of significance is the adaptation of such innovative concepts to traditional social and architectural elements (the farmers' market and Moorish detailing), representing the contemporary modernistic trends in architecture. The double-function of such a traditional space was an innovation in Ponce and in Puerto Rico as a whole.
Of great importance is that the building's design bears the signature of Rafael Carmoega
Rafael Carmoega
Rafael Carmoega Morales was a Puerto Rican architect from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was the first Puerto Rican to become State Architect, a position within the Department of the Interior which he held from 1921 to 1936...
, one of the most established Puerto Rican architects of the 20th century. A graduate of the Cornell University School of Architecture
Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning at Cornell University was established in 1871 as the School of Architecture with the hiring of Charles Babcock as the first Professor creating the first four-year course of study in architecture in the United States...
and subsequent director of the Architectural division of Puerto Rico's Department of the Interior, Carmoega also designed the Capitol Building
Capitol of Puerto Rico
The Capitol of Puerto Rico is located on the Islet of San Juan just outside the walls of Old San Juan. The building is home to the bicameral Legislative Assembly, composed of the House of Representatives and Senate...
, the University of Puerto Rico Main Campus at Rio Piedras
University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
The University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras , also referred to as UPR-RP, is a public research university located on a campus in Río Piedras, San Juan, Puerto Rico...
, the School of Tropical Medicine
University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus
The University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus —or Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Ciencias Médicas in Spanish— is a state university located in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the eleven campuses of the University of Puerto Rico...
, and the Mayaguez City Hall
Mayagüez City Hall
The Casa Consistorial De Mayaguez or as it is more commonly known Alcaldia de Mayagüez is the City Hall for the Municipality of Mayagüez. It is located in front of the Colón Main Square facing the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Cathedral.-History:...
, all listed on the National Register, in addition to other significant buildings. In his interest to preserve Hispanic traditions in the wake of the recent change of sovereignty from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Carmoega utilized the Spanish Baroque
Spanish Baroque
Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain and its provinces and former colonies, notably Spanish America and Belgium....
and Neo-Mudejar
Mudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
vocabularies in his designs, emphasizing the use of glazed, mosaic
Mosaic
Mosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
tiles in many buildings. The Plaza de los Perros is a fine example of this latter style, incorporating glazed mosaics, horseshoe arches, and galleries
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
in a mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
-like space for commercial usage.
Overall
The old "Mercado de las Carnes", or Meat Market, occupies a narrow through-lot connecting Mayor and Leon streets at the center of the block between Estrella and Guadalupe streets. In plan, the concrete, wood, and sheet-metal structure consists of an elongated quadrangle created by galleries opening onto an attenuated interior court. The neo-mudejarMudéjar
Mudéjar is the name given to individual Moors or Muslims of Al-Andalus who remained in Iberia after the Christian Reconquista but were not converted to Christianity...
and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
decorative facades appear to be independent of the actual utilitarian structure inside, as they shift slightly in opposite direction off the central court axis to accommodate the mall.
Façade
The east and west facades are identical, each consisting of a rectangular mass of approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) in height and 30 in width, which defines the major façadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
element. This rectangle is divided into five ground-storey bays: a series of three central bays flanked by slightly narrower wall areas. The bays are defined by a series of four vertical buttress-like piers which extend slightly above the ridge of the building.
Entryways
The three central bays form the frontispieceFrontispiece (architecture)
In architecture, a frontispiece is the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building. The term is especially used when the main entrance is the chief face of the building rather than being kept behind columns or a portico. Early German churches often...
of the facade, each of similar dimensions and created as an access to the interior court. Each bay contains a horseshoe arch approximately one-half the height of the facade and almost the full width of the bay. Above each arch, a decorative spandrel
Spandrel
A spandrel, less often spandril or splaundrel, is the space between two arches or between an arch and a rectangular enclosure....
panel contains glazed mosaic tiles in intricate Moorish patterns. Within each bay, a horizontal band stretching between the concrete piers separates the spandrel area from the parapet above. Above the central bay, the parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
is completely solid, whereas the parapets of the flanking bays are articulated with open, semi-circular concrete forms. At this level, the concrete piers are decorated with vertical rectangular panels of glazed multi-colored mosaic tiles.
The bays flanking the frontispiece
Frontispiece (architecture)
In architecture, a frontispiece is the combination of elements that frame and decorate the main, or front, door to a building. The term is especially used when the main entrance is the chief face of the building rather than being kept behind columns or a portico. Early German churches often...
are solid and unarticulated, although the southern bay has been punctured at ground level by wide, wooden doors as access to a street-side refreshments stand. A concrete cantilever
Cantilever
A cantilever is a beam anchored at only one end. The beam carries the load to the support where it is resisted by moment and shear stress. Cantilever construction allows for overhanging structures without external bracing. Cantilevers can also be constructed with trusses or slabs.This is in...
shades the entrance and a vertical sign above announces the business’ name.
Interior
At the interior court, a series of simplified, square, TuscanTuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
columns creates a gallery enclosing individual market areas within each bay. The stoa-like galleries are sheltered by a wood and sheet-metal roof pitched inward toward the court. Additional continuous wood and sheet-metal eaves, stemming from the colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
and suspended by link-chains from the architrave
Architrave
An architrave is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of the columns. It is an architectural element in Classical architecture.-Classical architecture:...
provide shelter within the court for those doing their shopping.
Alterations
This property has remained basically unaltered all elements described contribute to the structure's value. The only alteration is the refreshments stands' sign and the covering of the upper part of the stand's arch which are non-contributing elements.External links
See also
- Plaza de Mercado de Ponce
- La Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, Vol XIX, "Arquitectura y Leyes", Editorial Rumbo, Madrid. 1976.
- Acevedo Cruz, Joaquin. Conservacion: Area de la Plaza del Mercado de Ponce. Escuela de Arquitectura U.P.R., 1982 (unpublished).