1950s San Juan, Puerto Rico Travel Photo Archive

[Puerto Rico] [Photography] Archive of 20 silver gelatin photos of San Juan, Puerto Rico from the 1950s. Photographs have penned inscriptions on the front and measure mostly 2" x 4". This collection of photos were taken after the Puerto Rico Nationalist uprising against the United States Government rule which occurred in 1950. Puerto Rico has a long history of colonization from Spanish conquest to US rule. Puerto Ricans have long fought for their cultural and historical significance in which these photographs capture some of the daily experience of the Caribbean island. Most of the photographs show the local buildings from the Capitol Building, the residence (truncated) of Juan Ponce de Leon, the Plaza de Colon, the School of Medicine, the San Cristobal Fortress, to other ruins and landscapes. One photograph from 1953 shows a group of school children seated in front of a 20th century post office. A few other photos show the local natural scenery and flora such as Luquillo Beach and Munoz Rivera Park. Two 1954 images depict farmers and merchants, one with two men standing by a wooden cart filled with coconuts, and another of a man guiding ox with a cart full of crops. This collection of photographs displays the still life beauty and culture of Puerto Rico through it's landscapes, early days of Spanish colonialism, and it's people's relationship to their environment. Overall very good condition. (Inventory #: 20180)