Capitol of Puerto Rico

About

The Capitol of Puerto Rico (Spanish: Capitolio de Puerto Rico), most commonly known as El Capitolio (The Capitol), is the seat of the Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico, a bicameral legislature composed of a Senate and a House of Representatives, responsible for the legislative branch of the government in the archipelago and island. Located in San Juan Islet, immediately outside the city walls of the Old San Juan historic quarter in the capital city and municipality of San Juan, the ocean and bayfront, white marble-cladded edifice was built in the Neoclassical Beaux-Arts style between 1921 and 1929. Architect Rafael Carmoega designed the building to resemble the Pantheon in Rome, using as inspiration the Low Memorial Library in New York City. It is part of the U.S. National Register of Historic Places since 1977.

Situated in the center of San Juan Islet in the Puerta de Tierra historic district overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in the north and San Juan Bay in the south from an elevated point, the Capitol is about 1 mile (1.6 km) from both La Fortaleza, seat of the executive branch, in the Old San Juan historic quarter in the western end of the Islet, and the Supreme Court Building, seat of the judicial branch, in the eastern end of the Islet in Puerta de Tierra. The Court and Capitol are directly connected via Luis Muñoz Rivera Avenue in the north and Juan Ponce de León Avenue in the south, both of which are directly linked to La Fortaleza via San Francisco Street in the north and Fortaleza Street in the south.