Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan - Puerto Rico

Castillo San Felipe del Morro Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Castillo San Felipe del Morro, also known as El Morro, is a fort that was built in San Juan in the 16th century when Puerto Rico was under Spanish rule.

A trip to San Juan isn’t complete without visiting this iconic structure. Castillo San Felipe del Morro is named in honor of King Philip II of Spain. The fort was designed to guard the entrance to the San Juan Bay, and defend the Spanish colonial port city of San Juan from enemy ships.

In 1898, as a result of the Spanish-American War, the island changed hands from Spain to the United States. El Morro was designated as part of Fort Brooke and actively used as a military installation during the First and Second World Wars.

In 1961, the US Army retired El Morro, passing it on to the National Park Service to establish as a museum. And in 1983, El Morro and the walled-city of Old San Juan were declared Unesco World Heritage Sites.

The Gate of San Juan The main entrance of Old San Juan when it was entirely walled in is a giant doorway carved right into the city wall. From there you can head right to Paseo del Morro or left to Paseo de La Princesa.

  5418 Hits
13 April 2020
Travel
The Arc de Triomf is a triumphal arch in the city of Barcelona, Spain. It was built by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair. The arch crosses ...
16 April 2020
Travel
Formed along with the Great Lakes as the last ice age glaciers melted, Mackinac Island covers a little over 4 square miles. The Island is on Lake Huron between the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. Fort Mac...
07 June 2020
Travel
Thanks to SpaceX, a new era of human spaceflight has begun. On May 30th we launched Astronauts from American soil for the first time since the final liftoff of the space shuttle program July 8, 2011. ...
14 April 2020
Travel
La Boqueria is a world famous market in Barcelona on the edge of the Barri Gòtic.  It’s located in El Raval with an entrance to the market right off La Rambla.  An incredible place full of j...
03 April 2023
Travel
Washington, D.C. is always an interstring place to visit. I love museums, and there's plenty of them! In the 80’s I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. with this group of people. It was a very affordab...