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62-578: Residencia Armstrong-Poventud (Armstrong-Poventud Residence) is a historic building located in the Ponce Historic Zone in Ponce, Puerto Rico , across from the Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe . The construction of this home set the stage for the construction of other homes of similar architectural elements, character and opulence in turn-of-the-twentieth-century Ponce. The architectural style

124-611: A Strange Land : "Now here we have another emotional symbol... for almost three thousand years or longer, architects have designed buildings with columns shaped as female figures... After all those centuries it took Rodin to see that this was work too heavy for a girl... Here is this poor little caryatid who has tried—and failed, fallen under the load.... She didn't give up, Ben; she's still trying to lift that stone after it has crushed her..." In Act 2 of his 1953 play 'Waiting for Godot', author Samuel Beckett has Estragon say "We are not caryatids!" when he and Vladimir tire of "cart(ing) around"

186-595: A banker, and finally as a politician. Mr. Carlos Armstrong Toro had an import/export business that exposed him to the great cities of the world and put him in touch with the architectural styles of the day. He was, for example, a partner in a New York City business. In addition, he was also the Danish consul in Ponce. It was with this background that he ordered th construction of his home in Ponce. Señor Armstrong Toro married lady Eulalia Pou Carreras, on 11 January 1868. Doña Eulalia Pou

248-612: A caryatid porch for the Albright–Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York in which four of the eight figures (the other four figures holding only wreaths) represented a different art form, Architecture, Painting, Sculpture , and Music . Auguste Rodin 's 1881 sculpture Fallen Caryatid Carrying her Stone (part of his monumental The Gates of Hell work) shows a fallen caryatid. Robert Heinlein described this piece in Stranger in

310-451: A pair of female figures supporting the shelf of a marble chimneypiece at Villa Garzoni, near Padua. No architect mentioned the device until 1615, when Palladio 's pupil Vincenzo Scamozzi included a chapter devoted to chimneypieces in his Idea della archittura universale . Those in the apartments of princes and important personages, he considered, might be grand enough for chimneypieces with caryatid supporters, such as one he illustrated and

372-806: A similar one he installed in the Sala dell'Anticollegio , also in the Doge's Palace. In the 16th century, from the examples engraved for Sebastiano Serlio 's treatise on architecture, caryatids became a fixture in the decorative vocabulary of Northern Mannerism expressed by the Fontainebleau School and the engravers of designs in Antwerp . In the early 17th century, interior examples appear in Jacobean interiors in England; in Scotland

434-757: A success that it also came to be known as the Victorian Era . Unlike previous eras, the level of artistic and industrial prosperity reached during the Belle Époque was such that it reached the masses, in Europe as well as in the Americas . Important exhibitions marked this progress. There was one in England in 1851, and various others followed in various other major cities. There was for example another one in Paris in 1855 that brought about an even larger number of attendees, unprecedented in

496-474: A time when over 90% of the population of Puerto Rico used no electricity or plumbing. The overall impression of the residence is one displaying a new appearance of modernism. It has both Victorian and modernistic elements in it, approaching details seen in Belgium , New York City, Chicago, and London at the time. The resulting style is one of modernistic Victorian architecture. The building sustained damage due to

558-457: A variety of architectural elements from various epochs in a unique creative manner. He used, for example the most advanced objects of residential utility of the time such as electricity, bathroom and kitchens that functioned with an automatic plumbing system, to create a structure characteristics of the end of the Victorian era, known as Modernism . There is heavy use of electric light bulb lamps at

620-555: Is an example of the main Belle-Époque (English: "The Beautiful Epoch"), a French term that is used to describe a long period in European history noted for peace, political stability, and industrial progress. Started around the middle of the 19th century and ran up to World War I . This period of great prosperity coincided with England's Queen Victoria's kingdom (1837–1901) during which industrial and artistic greatness were promoted with such

682-669: Is clear. Torruella and his colleagues wanted to make sure the public hearing [of 10 March 1965] was controlled by them." Opposing groups sought to make their voices known to the townspeople at large, not just to the Municipal Government and the ICP , and formed "Comite de Ciudadanos para el Progreso de Ponce" (Citizens Committee Ponce's Progress). This committee included prominent businessmen such as Juan Eugenio Candal , Jose Maria Rovira , Gustavo Armstrong , Jose Moscoso , Tito Castro , among several others. To counter this group, supporters of

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744-658: Is collectively known as Ponce Creole . The home was designed and built by Manuel Víctor Domenech for the Armstrong-Poventud family. It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as the Armstrong-Toro House , and is also known as the Casa de las Cariatides . In 1991, the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña turned the house into a museum, which it manages. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture ( ICP ) and

806-582: Is located in what is commonly called Ponce Pueblo – the central downtown and oldest area of the city. While there are several roads that lead to it, the most common point of entry is via PR-1 , which becomes the Miguel Pou Boulevard, and then into the one-way Isabel Street, leading to the center of Ponce at the Plaza Las Delicias . In addition to Plaza Las Delicias, with its unique Parque de Bombas and Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe Cathedral ,

868-489: Is prevalent in Renaissance art . The ancient Caryae supposedly was one of the six adjacent villages that united to form the original township of Sparta, and the hometown of Menelaos ' queen, Helen of Troy . Girls from Caryae were considered especially beautiful, strong, and capable of giving birth to strong children. A caryatid supporting a basket on her head is called a canephora ("basket-bearer"), representing one of

930-491: The 2020 Puerto Rico earthquake . There are plans to restore the house from the damages it sustained. Ponce Historic Zone The Ponce Historic Zone ( Spanish : Zona Histórica de Ponce ) is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico , consisting of buildings, plazas and structures with distinctive architectures such as Neoclásico Isabelino and the Ponce Creole , a local architectural style developed between

992-700: The Asilo De Pobres de Mayaguez and the Residencia Batiz . Domenech, a public figure in Puerto Rico during the 20th century, built many noteworthy private residences and public buildings in San Juan , Ponce, and Mayaguez . Mr. Armstrong-Toro was one of Ponce's most distinguished citizens as well. His father, Pedro Lothario Armstrong y Creagh, was a Ponce merchant from St. Croix in the Danish West Indies . At

1054-533: The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña , with the concurrence of the Puerto Rico Planning Board , approved a resolution creating the Zone. The Zone included a list of 22, mostly contiguous areas, including specific buildings, structures, plaza, streets and sectors that were to be preserved. It also included an area in barrio Playa , including the ruins of the old Fuerte de San José . It was not long before

1116-592: The National Register of Historic Places . The nonprofit Project for Public Places listed the historic downtown Ponce city center as one of the 60 of the World's Great Places , for its "graciously preserved showcase of Caribbean culture". The Ponce en Marcha project has given even more form to the definition, establishment, and development of the Ponce Historic Zone. The plan is the result of litigation between

1178-459: The overmantel in the great hall of Muchalls Castle remains an early example. Caryatids remained part of the German Baroque vocabulary and were refashioned in more restrained and "Grecian" forms by neoclassical architects and designers, such as the four terracotta caryatids on the porch of St Pancras New Church , London (1822). Many caryatids lined up on the facade of the 1893 Palace of

1240-578: The 19th- and early 20th-centuries. The zone goes by various names, including Traditional Ponce ( Ponce Tradicional ), Central Ponce ( Ponce Centro ), Historic Ponce ( Ponce Histórico ), and Ponce Historic District ( Distrito Histórico de Ponce ). Although not yet listed in the National Register of Historic Places , the Ponce Historic Zone was added to the Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones ( Registro Nacional de Sitios y Zonas Históricas ) on February 2, 1989. The historic zone

1302-563: The 6th century BC. However, their use as supports in the form of women can be traced back even earlier, to ritual basins, ivory mirror handles from Phoenicia , and draped figures from archaic Greece. The best-known and most-copied examples are those of the six figures of the Caryatid porch of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis at Athens. One of those original six figures, removed by Lord Elgin in

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1364-620: The Arts housing the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago . In the arts of design, the draped figure supporting an acanthus -grown basket capital taking the form of a candlestick or a table-support is a familiar cliché of neoclassical decorative arts. The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota has caryatids as a motif on its eastern facade. In 1905 American sculptor Augustus Saint Gaudens created

1426-512: The Casa Armstrong-Poventud is among the most stately and elegant houses in Ponce. Built in 1900 as the home for this Scottish banker, the house served as the regional office of the ICP for 15 years. Casa Armstrong-Poventud building is a magnificent example of the neoclassical architectural heritage of the island. The Residence was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on 29 October 1987. The Casa Armstrong-Poventud Museum

1488-612: The Danish government, Mr. Armstrong was conferred the high honor of the " Order of the Dannebrog " of Denmark and was named Danish Consul to Puerto Rico. Architecturally speaking, the Armstrong-Toro Residence is significant in the history of Ponce because it is one of Domenech's most distinguished eclectic designs and probably the best known. Its unique caryatid-framed main entrance, its intricate ornamental details and its location upon

1550-591: The Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce and the Government of Puerto Rico. The Ponce en Marcha plan projects involve several departments of the Government of Puerto Rico: Structures within the historic zone are classified into four categories: The historic zone itself consists of three distinct sub-zones: In August 2003, Mayor Cordero favored a measure to exclude Belgica, Claussells, and Cantera — all poor, low-income communities — from

1612-752: The Historic Zone created their own "Comite Ponceño Pro Buen Progreso" (Ponce Citizens' Committee for Fair Progress)." The debates went on for years with many public hearings taking place. Professional urban planning, traffic, and architectural studies, among others, also took place and recommendations were provided. One study categorized the architectural styles in the Historic Zone into seven groups: Neoclassical European , Spanish Colonial , Ponce Creole , Criollo Pueblerino , Criollo Residencial Pueblerino , Neoclassical Creole , and Neoclassical Superior . On 17 November 2005, then-Governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá , signed Executive Order Number 72, approving

1674-457: The Island to divide, for fire control purposes, a town's urban center into three zones: stone-built, build with fire resistant materials, and built with combustible materials. No structure could be built, rebuilt or restored within a minimum of 50 meters from the town's central square unless it was stoned-built or it was to be upgraded to a stone-built structure. According to Rosario Natal, those were

1736-509: The Ponce aqueduct, and several majestic homes, like Armstrong Puventud Home. The home of Señor Carlos W. Armstrong Toro and lady Eulalia Pou, now known as the Armstrong-Poventud Residence, represents this wealth despite the restrictive colonial Spanish government of the Island at the time. Señor Carlos Walter Armstrong Toro established his wealth on the agricultural prosperity the Island experienced: first as businessman, later as

1798-634: The Puerto Rico Office of Historical Preservation have determined that the house was built in 1899. The American Architect and Building News magazine, on the front cover of its 25 January 1899, issue published the design of the Residencia Armstrong-Poventud. The Residencia was inaugurated fully as a museum by the ICP in October 2008. Prior to 2008, and starting in 1991, visitors were allowed to tour

1860-507: The area covered by the Ponce Historic Zone is available (in 2011) from the government of the municipality of Ponce. Carmelo Rosario Natal has linked the origins of the Ponce Historic Zone to an event that took place on 8 June 1893. On that date, La Gaceta de Puerto Rico, the insular government's official periodical, published an edict of the Governor of Puerto Rico, Antonio Daban y Ramirez de Arellano, that mandated municipal authorities throughout

1922-494: The building on two occasions: in the 1980s and then again from 2006 to 2008. Almost all the furniture and utensils from that era are still in place, as well as paintings and pictures belonging the original owners of this grand old home located directly in front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral , in the town square. The house is easy to spot thanks to the two caryatids in the front of the house and its overall neoclassic architectural style. With its gorgeous, neoclassical facade,

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1984-405: The capital city of San Juan , where doors are considerably simpler. The residence displays a harmonious appreciation for the style, as much by the architects as by the owners, of the Belle Époque. The "cariátides" ( caryatids ) statues used by architect Manuel V. Domenech for the front of the house were not the classical ones, but modernized adaptations of the classical ones. They do not display

2046-528: The caryatid is referred to as a telamon (plural telamones ) or atlas (plural atlantes ) – the name refers to the legend of Atlas , who bore the sphere of the heavens on his shoulders. Such figures were used on a monumental scale, notably in the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Agrigento , Sicily . Some of the earliest known examples were found in the treasuries of Delphi , including that of Siphnos , dating to

2108-476: The creation of the Zone was opposed by local developers and the real estate service industry. Ismaro Torruella, president of the Municipal Assembly, who was originally one of the supporters of the creation of the Zone, succumbed to mounting pressure from local developers, business people and realtors and, by 1962, now favored the elimination, or at least the limitation, of the Zone. "The evidence on this matter

2170-710: The crucial purpose of providing static support to their necks, which would otherwise be the thinnest and structurally weakest part. The Romans also copied the Erechtheion caryatids, installing copies in the Forum of Augustus and the Pantheon in Rome , and at Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli . Another Roman example, found on the Via Appia , is the Townley Caryatid . In Early Modern times,

2232-721: The early 19th century in an act which severely damaged the temple and is widely considered to be vandalism and looting, is currently in the British Museum in London. The Greek government does not recognise the British Museum's claims to own any part of the Acropolis temples and the return of the stolen Caryatid to Athens along with the rest of the so-called Elgin Marbles is the subject of a major international campaign. The Acropolis Museum holds

2294-778: The first day of the Ponce Fair: Plaza Las Delicias , the Unión Mercantil building, the Ponce Casino and some of the most majestic homes in the Majestic City, such as the Armstrong Residence. The economic affluence in Ponce during the second half of the 19th century was due to great wealth from sugarcane plantations . This made possible the construction of various public works such as the Teatro La Perla ,

2356-411: The first. All floors within the house are parquet and ceilings are of hand-painted decorative pressed metal. The floors were installed during the last restoration and the pressed-metal ceilings are all original. As a result of the disastrous earthquake of 1918 , the structure's northern wall had fallen and was subsequently reconstructed according to the original plans. The concrete-vaulted port-cochere

2418-557: The historic Ponce center as a Historic Center of First Order. In the 1990s an intensive $ 440 million revitalization project called " Plan Ponce en Marcha " ("Ponce on the Move Plan") has increased the city's historic area from 260 to 1,046 buildings. The Ponce en Marcha project was conceived in 1985 by then governor Rafael Hernández Colón during his second term in La Fortaleza . A significant number of buildings in Ponce are listed in

2480-497: The historic zone. Caryatid An atlas or atlantid or telamon is a male version of a caryatid, i.e. , a sculpted male statue serving as an architectural support. The term is first recorded in the Latin form caryatides by the Roman architect Vitruvius . He stated in his 1st century BC work De architectura (I.1.5) that certain female figures represented the punishment of

2542-418: The history of mankind: 5,100,000 people coming from virtually every existing country. In 1878, Paris celebrated another Fair yet where the telephone and the light bulb were shown for the first time. The city was first lit during this 1878 Paris Fair. Ponce had its own fair in 1882. It was dedicated to agriculture, commerce, industry and the arts. Just like Paris four years earlier, Ponce was also illuminated on

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2604-473: The house while it concurrently served as the Southern headquarters of the institute. The institute operates a small but diverse store in a wing of the museum. The Carlos Armstrong-Toro Residence is one of Ponce's most famous houses. This structure was designed and built by Manuel Domenech, one of the island's most distinguished architects of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some of Domenech's designs include:

2666-518: The maidens who carried sacred objects used at feasts of the goddesses Athena and Artemis . The Erectheion caryatids, in a shrine dedicated to an archaic king of Athens, may therefore represent priestesses of Artemis in Caryae, a place named for the "nut-tree sisterhood" – apparently in Mycenaean times, like other plural feminine toponyms , such as Hyrai or Athens itself. The later male counterpart of

2728-463: The marble's patina . Each caryatid was cleaned in place, with a television circuit relaying the spectacle live to museum visitors. Although of the same height and build, and similarly attired and coiffed, the six Caryatids are not the same: their faces, stance, draping, and hair are carved separately; the three on the left stand on their right foot, while the three on the right stand on their left foot. Their bulky, intricately arranged hairstyles serve

2790-468: The most prominent lot in the city of Ponce (across from the Cathedral and public plaza ) have made this house a true architectural landmark in the city's traditional urban core. As a result, many houses were built during the early 20th century with similar elements in a similar vocabulary, contributing to the unique historic district of Ponce . Residencia Armstrong-Poventud is a two-story masonry building on

2852-492: The other five figures, which are replaced onsite by replicas. The five originals that are in Athens are now being exhibited in the new Acropolis Museum, on a special balcony that allows visitors to view them from all sides. The pedestal for the caryatid removed to London remains empty, awaiting its return. From 2011 to 2015, they were cleaned by a specially constructed laser beam , which removed accumulated soot and grime without harming

2914-574: The practice of integrating caryatids into building facades was revived, and in interiors they began to be employed in fireplaces , which had not been a feature of buildings in Antiquity and offered no precedents. Early interior examples are the figures of Heracles and Iole carved on the jambs of a monumental fireplace in the Sala della Jole of the Doge's Palace, Venice , about 1450. In the following century Jacopo Sansovino , both sculptor and architect, carved

2976-404: The recently blinded Pozzo. Agnes Varda made two short films documenting Caryatid columns around Paris. 1984 Les Dites Cariatides 2005 Les Dites Cariatides Bis. The musical group Son Volt evoke the caryatides and their burden borne in poetic metaphor on the song "Caryatid Easy" from their 1997 album Straightaways , with singer Jay Farrar reproving an unidentified lover with the line "you play

3038-630: The residence, are also characteristic of those comprising the new artistic expression of the Victorian Era evident in Europe and the United States in the first decades of the 20th century. The front door is an excellent example of doors characteristic of the Victorian era. It achieved two purposes: decorative but also to allow the passage of natural daylight. Almost all the doors in this Museum have unique majestic-style characteristics not found in doors in

3100-435: The roots of what almost 70 years later would be called the Ponce Historic Zone. On 20 June 1960, governor Luis Muñoz Marín amended the law regarding historic zones, making it possible for Ponce to be included in such category. On 6 June 1962, the Zone was officially designated as such, and initially included only the center core of the city, but it was later expanded to include a much larger area. On that date (6 June 1962)

3162-490: The solemn expression of the traditional ones, but smiling young people with a modern hairdo and displaying body motion. Even the pedestal on which the status lay has an Art-Nouveau style. The interior furniture and other items are also Victorian. The Residence emphasizes a multiplicity of styles in its interior, not just different epochs, but also different countries: Chinese jar, Victorian lamps, Art-Nouveau , and Austrian glass chandeliers. Mr. Manuel Victor Domenech used

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3224-435: The term refers to young women worshipping Artemis in Caryae through dance. Lefkowitz says that the term comes from the Spartan city of Caryae, where young women did a ring dance around an open-air statue of the goddess Artemis, locally identified with a walnut tree. Bernard Sergent specifies that the dancers came to the small town of Caryae from nearby Sparta. Nevertheless, the association of caryatids with slavery persists and

3286-403: The time a great deal of Puerto Rico's imports came through Danish St. Thomas . Armstrong-Toro was one of the first bankers in Puerto Rico, founder of the Banco de Ponce and the Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño . Mr. Armstrong-Toro developed an international banking network with offices in Puerto Rico, Cuba , the United States , and Denmark . As a result of his extensive financial relations with

3348-427: The two caryatids , which flank the main entrance and define the three bays of the facade. The central entrance arch cuts the podium and houses intricately carved hardwood doors and a stained-glass fanlight protected by decorative wrought iron railings. Bays 1 and 3 both consist of paired arches, located above the podium and articulated in an ionic pilaster order. Each arch-window houses folding jalousie shutters. At

3410-476: The upper level there are four Ionic pilasters with pedestals resting on a continuous horizontal string-course. The three openings are symmetrically arranged and equally proportioned and articulated: a simple surround with a keystone frames a wide arch, opening out to a balcony through wooden jalousie doors. Decoratively etched clear glass lights occupy the tympanum over each opening. The first and third bay balconies contain waist-high decorative cast-iron railings and

3472-403: The upper-level floor line, creating a side terrace for the upper floor. The house is very simple in plan and elegant in execution. The main entrance accesses a foyer with steps leading up to the major circulation hall through wooden and stained-glass double-doors. A sweeping stairway, toward the back of the house on the left side of the hall accesses the second floor, which is similar in plan to

3534-413: The westside of Calle Union (No. 9), directly in front of the Cathedral and Plaza of the historic urban center of Ponce. The almost-cubic proportions of the facade are articulated in three bays: 2 wider bays flanking a central, narrower entrance bay. At the ground level, a pink-stone plinth serves as a podium for the one story eclectic pilasters at the north and south extremes of the facade and for

3596-422: The wider central balcony consists of stone balusters and rails supported by the caryatid figures of the ground floor. A full-entablature cornice and solid parapet cap the facade composition. Roman-style amphorae on the parapet, above each pilaster, serve as finials for each bay division. At the northern end of the structure, a concrete port-cochere enclosed by decorative wrought-iron railings projects from

3658-507: The women of Caryae , a town near Sparta in Laconia , who were condemned to slavery after betraying Athens by siding with Persia in the Greco-Persian Wars . However, Vitruvius's explanation is doubtful; well before the Persian Wars, female figures were used as decorative supports in Greece and the ancient Near East. Vitruvius's explanation is dismissed as an error by Camille Paglia in Glittering Images and not even mentioned by Mary Lefkowitz in Black Athena Revisited . They both say

3720-599: The zone includes landmarks such as Ponce City Hall , Armstrong-Poventud Residence , Ponce High School , and Panteón Nacional Román Baldorioty de Castro . Numerous other attractions in this historic area are listed in the NRHP , such as Banco de Ponce , Casa Paoli , and Casa de la Masacre . Others, such as Teatro Fox Delicias , Teatro La Perla , Plaza de Mercado , Hotel Meliá , and Paseo Atocha are not listed but possess significant historical value. Street corners in most of this zone have chamfered corners ( esquinas de chaflán ), typical of Barcelona, Spain . A map of

3782-440: Was added at that time. Aside from this latter addition, the Armstrong-Toro house maintains the exact architecture of the original design. The Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP) acquired the building from the descendants of the original owners. Some of the original furniture and personal items of the home were included in the acquisition, as the Armstrong family lived the house uninterrupted for eight decades. The ICP restored

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3844-490: Was herself from a wealthy Ponce family. The Museum at Casa Armstrong Poventud presents the latest architectural and artistic taste in vogue at the end of the 19th century in Europe. For example, heavy use of glass on doors and windows. The glass decor used in the front door of the residence, for instance, is almost identical to those used in the Crystal Palace at the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations in England years earlier. The floral and natural motifs in

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