Ponce, Puerto Rico

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.

The Ponce City Hall (Spanish: Casa Alcaldía de Ponce) is a historic city hall in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is located it the center of the city, on Calle Degetau, across from Plaza Degetau in the Ponce Historic Zone. The building serves as the seat of the executive branch of government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce, including the office of the Mayor of Ponce. Built in 1840, it is the oldest colonial building in the city. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1986 as Casa Alcaldía de Ponce-City Hall.

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.

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.

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 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).

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, which actually consists of two squares: Plaza Muñoz Rivera on the north end, and Plaza Degetau on the southern end. The square is the center of the Ponce Historic Zone, and it is flanked by the historic Ponce City Hall to the south, the early 19th-century Teatro Fox Delicias 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.

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.