Ponce City Hall

Ponce (US: , UK: , Spanish pronunciation: [ˈponse] ) 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 August 12, 1692 and is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the great-grandson of Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León. Ponce is often referred to as La Perla del Sur (The Pearl of the South), La Ciudad Señorial (The Manorial City), and La Ciudad de las Quenepas (Genip City). The city serves as the governmental seat of the autonomous municipality as well as the regional hub for various Government of Puerto Rico entities, such as the Judiciary of Puerto Rico. It is also the regional center for various other Government of Puerto Rico and US Federal Government agencies. Ponce is a principal city of both the Ponce Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Ponce-Yauco-Coamo Combined Statistical Area. The Municipality of Ponce, officially the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, is located in the southern coastal plain region of the island, south of Adjuntas, Utuado, and Jayuya; east of Peñuelas; west of Juana Díaz; and bordered on the south by the Caribbean Sea. The municipality has 31 barrios, including 19 outside the city's urban area and 12 in the urban area of the city. The historic Ponce Pueblo district, located in the downtown area of the city, is shared by several of the downtown barrios, and is located approximately three miles (4.8 km) inland from the shores of the Caribbean. The municipality of Ponce is the second largest in Puerto Rico by land area, and it was the first in Puerto Rico to obtain its autonomy, becoming the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce in 1992.

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 and the oldest music group in Puerto Rico. It has performed its open-air concerts for over 125 years. The current director is Juan García Germaín. It has 42 members between 25 and 83 years old. It operates within the jurisdiction of the Oficina de Desarrollo Cultural (English: Office of Cultural Development) of the autonomous municipality of Ponce. Its headquarters are located at the Centro Integrado para el Fortalecimiento de las Artes Musicales, next to Teatro La Perla.

Plaza Degetau, formally Plaza Federico Degetau, is the larger of two plazas at Plaza Las Delicias, the main city square in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The other plaza is named Plaza Muñoz Rivera and is located north of Plaza Degetau. 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 bordering the north side of this plaza. The square is the center of the Ponce Historic Zone, and it is flanked by the historic Ponce City Hall to the south, the cathedral and historic firehouse to the north, the NRHP-listed Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño and Banco de Ponce buildings to the east, and the Armstrong-Poventud Residence to the west. The square dates back to the early Spanish settlement in Ponce of 1670. It is the main tourist attraction of the city, receiving about a quarter of a million visitors per year.

Banco de Ponce was the Puerto Rican bank with the largest number of branches in the United States and second largest bank in deposits and number of branches in Puerto Rico during the twentieth century. Founded in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in the early part of the century, it headquartered in San Juan in 1970 and, 20 years later, merged with Banco Popular forming BancPonce Corporation.

Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño (Ponce Credit and Savings Bank) was the first bank in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and one of the first two native Puerto Rican banks to be established in Puerto Rico. The bank was the first one to introduce a bank credit card to the Puerto Rican market. With over 50 branches throughout the island, the bank was one of the largest banking companies in Puerto Rico during most of the twentieth century. Founded in 1895, Banco Crédito built its own first banking structure in 1924 at Calle Marina and Callejón Amor, in Ponce. This first branch office, located in what is today the Ponce Historic Zone, has since been declared historic and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.The bank collapsed in 1978 and was acquired by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Its accounts and assets were purchased by Banco Popular de Puerto Rico and Banco Santander.

The Banco de Ponce building, a historic building in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was the first and main office of Banco de Ponce until the company merged with Banco Popular in 1990. Though its headquarters had moved to a presumptuous building in Hato Rey's Milla de Oro by then, Banco de Ponce continued to consider this building its main office, until the company merged with Banco Popular in 1990. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1987. It was built in 1924.

The Monumento a los héroes de El Polvorín (Monument to the "El Polvorín" fire heroes) is a monument at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico, dedicated to the seven fire fighters and one civilian that subdued the flames of the "El Polvorin" fire on the night of 25 January 1899.

Juan Morel Campos is a statue to the memory of a Puerto Rican composer and danza master Juan Morel Campos located at Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The statue's large marble pedestal follows in the Beaux Arts architectural tradition. Within the pedestal are the mortal remains of the composer.

Domingo Cruz (Cocolía) is a statue to the memory of the Puerto Rican musician and Ponce Municipal Band director Domingo Cruz (Cocolía). It is located at Plaza Degetau in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The marble statue also has a marble pedestal.

The Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño building (or Banco Crédito, for short), a historic building in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was the first and main office of the historic Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño (English: Ponce Credit and Savings Bank), and represents one of the last examples of the once popular turn-of-the-century eclectic architecture. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on June 25, 1987. It was built in 1924. The building was owned by Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño which was one of the largest banking companies in the country of Puerto Rico during most of the twentieth century.

The Antiguo Casino de Ponce (English: Old Ponce Casino), or simply the Casino de Ponce, is a historic structure, built in 1922 and located in Barrio Cuarto, Ponce, Puerto Rico. Originally built as a social club for Ponce's elite, it is currently used as the premier reception center of "The Noble City of Puerto Rico". The building, designed by Agustin Camilo Gonzalez in the Second Empire and Neo-Rococo styles, has a French facade and tones. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 28 October 1987. It is located at the corner of Marina and Luna streets. The building has been called "an icon of Ponce's architecture, history, and identity." It is owned and administered by the Ponce Municipal Government. In 1936, during the Great Depression, the Casino declared bankruptcy and shut down. It subsequently had various uses: a postal office, a public health unit, tax collector's office, and even a temporary city hall. In 1990 it was restored by the Ponce Municipal Government, and has since been used for high-ranking official municipal business. For example, it was here where the dinner to honor Prince of Asturias, His Majesty Felipe de Borbon, took place.

The Ponce Historic Zone (La Zona Histórica de Ponce) is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico, consisting of buildings and structures with architecture that date to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone goes by various names, including Ponce Tradicional (Traditional Ponce), Ponce Centro (Ponce Center), Ponce Histórico (Historic Ponce), and Distrito Histórico (Historic District).