Antonio Rafael Barceló y Martínez was a Puerto Rican lawyer, businessman and the patriarch of what was to become one of Puerto Rico's most prominent political families. Barceló, who in 1917 became the first President of the Senate of Puerto Rico, played an instrumental role in the introduction and passage of legislation which permitted the realization of the School of Tropical Medicine and the construction of a Capitol building in Puerto Rico.

The Capitol of Puerto Rico, also known as Casa de las Leyes (House of Laws), and most commonly referred to as El Capitolio (The Capitol), is the seat of the Legislative Assembly, the bicameral legislature, composed of the Senate and House of Representatives, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. Located on San Juan Islet immediately outside the Walls of Old San Juan, the oceanfront, neoclassical Beaux-Arts-style, entirely white marble-covered edifice was constructed between 1921 and 1929 to resemble the ancient Roman Pantheon in Rome, using as inspiration the Low Memorial Library in New York City. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.