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Our training began at home, Puerto Rico

Just as an athlete prepares and trains for a competition, likewise we prepared for our trip Spain 2017. Through the organization Puerto Rico Historic Building Drawings Society (PRHBDS) and unknowingly, their walking tours prepared us when the time came to cross the sea to the Old World.

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PRHBDS, headed by the Architect Andy Rivera, who has become a great friend, has the mission by means of his tours to provide knowledge on the history and architectural legacy of Puerto Rico with the goal to promote its preservation.

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These tours enabled us to learn the history of our buildings and of emblematic places of Old San Juan as well as of Puerta de Tierra, Miramar, Santurce y Río Piedras. One learns to value the structures still standing and the importance of conservation for ourselves and future generations.

Puerto Rico Historic Building Drawings Society offers over 25 walking tours monthly. Some of the ones we have taken are:

  • Los Balcones del Viejo San Juan (VSJ)
  • Las Baldosas Hidráulicas del VSJ
  • Los Patios Interiores del VSJ
  • Garitas del VSJ
  • Los Vitrales del VSJ
  • Rincones Poco Conocidos – Tours 2, 3 y 4. Pending Tour 1
  • Aljibes, Pozos y Cisternas del VSJ
  • Viejo San Juan Nocturno
  • Las Líneas de Defensa de la isleta de San Juan
  • Soles Truncos del VSJ
  • Las Escaleras históricas del VSJ
  • El Antiguo Acueducto del Río Piedras
  • Miramar Histórico – Parte 1 y 2
  • Santurce – Parte 1(Nos falta la parte 2)
  • Visita a Residencias Privadas del VSJ
  • Taller de Técnicas Básicas de Documentación

Kindly visit the photo gallery on these tours found at : PRHBDS Photos

We are still pending the following tours:

  • Parque Luis Muñoz Rivera
  • Los Adoquines del VSJ
  • Condado Histórico
  • Cementerio Santa María Magdalena de Pazzi (VSJ)
  • Murallas del Viejo San Juan Derribadas en el 1897
  • Plazas, plazuelas y Paseos del Viejo San Juan
  • Cuadrángulo Histórico de la UPR y el periodo de Henry Klumb

A full year and a half of training via these tours and others, we have spontaneously undertaken. Not only did we fortified our legs. We also learned about the history of Old San Juan and its heritage. More importantly, we developed a sharp photographic eye which enabled us in the identification, structuring and visual documentation of the images that now are a part of our lives.

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We thank Andy Rivera, Karen Rivera and the whole team that makes up the Puerto Rico Historic Building Drawings Society for the historical information shared, the effort, enthusiasm and passion they invest in this valuable enterprise.

For more information on the PRHBDS yoou can look them up on Facebook, contact Andy Rivera at the following e-mail:  ARivera@PRHBDS.org  o call at: 1(787)671-8492.

Their web page: http://www.prhbds.org/

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