Jenniffer González-Colón (R-P.R.), Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, has introduced four bills to declare notable Puerto Rico sites as National Historic Landmarks.
The Jose Celso Barbosa Birthplace Home National Historic Landmark.
Dr. José Celso Barbosa is known as the founder of the Republican Party in Puerto Rico and the Father of Statehood. He is also the first person from Puerto Rico to earn a medical degree in a state. As a human rights activist, he came up with innovative ideas to help workers in Puerto Rico in the early 20th century get access to medical care. He worked tirelessly for U.S. citizenship for the people of Puerto Rico, and then for statehood and full equality with citizens living in the States.
Dr. Barbosa’s home is already on the National Register. The new bill would make it a National Landmark as well.
The Luis Muñoz Rivera Home National Historic Landmark
Luis Muñoz Rivera became the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico in 1909. He had been active in the Autonomist Party when Puerto Rico was a colony of Spain, and was involved in the development of the Jones-Shafroth Act, which gave U.S. citizenship to people born in Puerto Rico.
The Munos Rivera home is already on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Hacienda Buena Vista National Historic Landmark
The Hacienda Buena Vista is a 19th century coffee plantation, now operated as a museum by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust. The estate is an example of Spanish colonial architecture and of specialized technology used during the golden age of coffee production in Puerto Rico. 40,000 people visit the museum each year.
The estate is also on the National Register. The bill will elevate it to the status of a National Landmark.
The Cabezas de San Juan Lighthouse National Historic Landmark
This historic lighthouse, built by the Spanish in the 18th century, is part of Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve and is managed by the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico. It is still working today; the original illumination was replaced by an automatic system in the 1970s.
