Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño (building)
The Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño building, a historic building in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was the first and main office of the historic Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño, 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.
The Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño building on Plaza Degetau
Plaque from the Banco Crédito building, now on display at Museo de la Historia de Ponce
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.
Plaza Degetau, one of two main plazas at Plaza Las Delicias
Plaza Degetau circa 1890s, when it was still called Plaza Mayor, looking north-northwest
Diagram of Plaza Las Delicias. The upper (north/red) section is the Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera while the lower (south/blue) section is the Plaza Federico Degetau. Legend: 1. Cathedral Nuestra Señora de la Guadalupe 2. Parque de Bombas 3. Lions Fountain 4. Statue of Luis Muñoz Rivera 5. Statue of Juan Morel Campos 6. Statue of Domingo Cruz "Cocolia" 7. Obelisk to "El Polvorin" Firemen 8. Statue of Blind Justice 9. Statue of woman with children, "Maternity"
The Lions Fountain on Plaza Degetau