The Museo de la Historia de Ponce is located in Casa Salazar-Candal, a fully restored house built in 1911. The house was designed by architect Blas Silva Boucher for Dr. Guillermo Salazar Palau who had the house built as a wedding present for his bride. The house was built in an L shape and included office space as well as living quarters for the family.
The house went on to become the headquarters for the Ponce Nationalist Alliance and later the Ponce Progressive League before finally being converted into a museum. From 1989-1992 the house underwent restoration while curators researched and planned the permanent exhibits. Many of the artifact collections were donated or loaned to the museum by local Ponceńos for the exhibits. On December 12, 1992, the museum opened to the public.
The museum houses 10 exhibit halls with 6 permanent exhibits on the cultural, political, social and economic history of Ponce and Puerto Rico. Most of the exhibits are in Spanish. However, even if you don’t speak Spanish, it is still worth visiting to see the various artifact collections and architecture of the house. The artifact collections chronicle different eras of Ponce’s history, culture and medicine.
