Parque Urbano Dora Colón Clavell (English: ''Dora Colón Clavell Urban Park'') is a passive park in

Ponce, Puerto Rico Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government. Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...

. The park is named after the mother of ex-governor of Puerto Rico and Ponce native,

Rafael Hernández Colón Rafael Hernández Colón (October 24, 1936 – May 2, 2019) was a Puerto Rican politician who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1973 to 1977 and 1985 to 1993 for a total of three terms. An experienced politician, Hernández held the ...

. It opened on 9 December 1995. The park was designed by Ponce architect Juan Dalmau Sambolín.

Location

The park is a passive urban family park. It is located in Ponce's Historic District, near several museums and parks, including the

Ponce Massacre Museum The ''Museo de la Masacre de Ponce'' (the Ponce Massacre Museum) is a human rights museum and historic building in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It depicts the history and events surrounding the Ponce massacre, which occurred in broad daylight on Palm Sun ...

and the

Abolition Park Abolition refers to the act of putting an end to something by law, and may refer to: * Abolitionism, abolition of slavery * Abolition of the death penalty, also called capital punishment * Abolition of monarchy *Abolition of nuclear weapons *Abol ...

. It features a number of kiosks that open on an as-needed basis (i.e., depending on the function taking place at the park) and a central stage where the

Banda Municipal de Ponce The Ponce Municipal Band (Spanish: ''Banda Municipal de Ponce''), also known as ''Centenaria Banda Municipal de Ponce'', is the band of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The band is the oldest continuously-performing band in the Caribbean ...

stages free open-air concerts. The location where the park now sits used to be occupied by

Hospital Damas Hospital Damas, formerly called Santo Asilo de Damas, is a 331-bed teaching hospital in Ponce, Puerto Rico. History Hospital Damas was founded in 1863 as Santo Asilo de Damas by Sister Francisca Paz Cabrera, and it was attended to by the group ...

before it moved to its current location on Ponce By Pass on 6 May 1973.Carmelo Rosario Natal. ''Ponce En Su Historia Moderna: 1945-2002.'' Published by Secretaría de Cultura y Turismo of the Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 2003. p. 253.

History

The park was built in 1995 under the administration of mayor Churumba and, in the same year, it received the award for Outstanding Construction Work of the Year (Spanish: "Obra Sobresaliente del Año") from the College of Engineers and Surveyors of Puerto Rico. It was built with an original appropriation of $5.5 million. Final cost in December 1995 was $11 million.

Amenities

The park features gardens, a

Mudéjar Mudéjar ( , also , , ca, mudèjar , ; from ar, مدجن, mudajjan, subjugated; tamed; domesticated) refers to the group of Muslims who remained in Iberia in the late medieval period despite the Christian reconquest. It is also a term for ...

-style kiosk for the Ponce Municipal Band traditional Sunday concerts, a trolley stop, a restaurant, and food stands. This Mudéjar-style kiosk is a smaller replica of the one built on

Plaza Las Delicias Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaza ...

, in 1882, but since demolished, for the town's 1882 Feria-Exposición. It was designed by José Carlos Villaró, a Spanish architect from

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

. The park also has an underground parking garage with two levels. In the first (top-most) level of the garage there is a Ponce tourist police station.''Free Municipal Parking Lot.'' LetsGo: Destinations, Ponce.
Retrieved 25 April 2010. The parking garage has space for 400 vehicles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parque Urbano Dora Colon Clavell Urban public parks Parks in Ponce, Puerto Rico 1995 establishments in Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in Ponce, Puerto Rico Buildings and structures completed in 1995 Parks established in the 1990s Protected areas established in 1995

Location

History

Amenities

See also

References