Manuel V. Domenech Ferrer (23 March 1869 – 15 March 1942) was a Puerto Rican politician and engineer. He was mayor of Ponce in 1904, and designer of

Casa Armstrong-Poventud Residencia Armstrong-Poventud (Armstrong-Poventud Residence) is a historic building located in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico, across from the Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. The construction of this home set the stage f ...

, Rosaly-Batiz House, and the 1898 Casas Gemelas (Twin Houses) built for Luis Casals, among others prominent structures.

Early years

Domenech was born in

Isabela, Puerto Rico Isabela () is a town and municipality of Puerto Rico located in the north-western region of the island, north of San Sebastián; west of Quebradillas; and east of Aguadilla and Moca. It is named in honor of Isabella I of Castile. Isabela ...

on 23 March 1869. He graduated from

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

, Pennsylvania, United States in 1888. Domenech was also educated at

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Va ...

. Studying at Lehigh University exposed Domenech to life in the state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

at a time when that state was experiencing accelerated development in modernistic architecture. Likewise, his education at Rensselaer exposed him to the most advanced techniques in engineering and architecture training available at the time. Located in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...

, Rensselaer also exposed the young student to a region experiencing a great amount of growth and architectural transformation during his time there.

Political career

After his return to Puerto Rico, he became was a member of the House of Representatives from 1900 to 1902, and mayor of Ponce in 1904. In 1914 he was named Commissioner in the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the m ...

, becoming one of the first Puerto Rican to hold a presidentially appointed Puerto Rico Cabinet position. Later he was Treasurer of Puerto Rico, from 1930 to 1935. In various occasions he also served as Acting Governor of Puerto Rico. Domenech attended the

1928 Republican National Convention The 1928 Republican National Convention was held at Convention Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, from June 12 to June 15, 1928. Because President Coolidge had announced unexpectedly he would not run for re-election in 1928, Commerce Secretary ...

in Kansas City, Missouri as an alternate delegate.

Engineer

Domenech is also known to have acted as municipal architect for the city of Ponce. He was a civil engineer and, in 1914, also rehabilitated the house where "King of Tenors"

Antonio Paoli Antonio Paoli (14 April 1871 – 24 August 1946) was a Puerto Rican tenor. At the height of his fame, he was known as "The King of Tenors and The Tenor of Kings." He is considered to be the first Puerto Rican to reach international fame ...

was born and grew up.

Death and burial

Domenech died in 1942 in

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan (, , ; Spanish for "Saint John") is the capital city and most populous municipality in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2020 census, it is the 57th-largest city under the ju ...

. He is buried at Puerto Rico Memorial Cemetery in

Carolina, Puerto Rico Carolina (; ) is a city and municipality located on the northeast coast of Puerto Rico. It lies immediately east of the capital San Juan and Trujillo Alto; north of Gurabo and Juncos; and west of Canóvanas and Loíza. Carolina is spread over ...

Honors

After his death, a major roadway in

Hato Rey Hato Rey is a former barrio located in the northwest part of the dissolved municipality of Río Piedras. It now stretches over three barrios, of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Urban landscape Its name means "king's cattle farm" (' ...

, Puerto Rico, was named after him. Domenech is also honored at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.''Architecture.''
TravelPonce. Retrieved 18 June 2012. In Ponce, there is a street in Urbanizacion Las Delicias of Barrio Magueyes named after him.

Early years

Political career

Engineer

Death and burial

Honors

See also

References

Further reading