Caribe Hilton Hotel
Encyclopedia
The Caribe Hilton Hotel, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
, is one of the best-known hotels in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. It was the first facility ever operated by Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...
outside of the continental United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
In early 1946, as part of the Puerto Rican
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
industrialization effort known as Operation Bootstrap
Operation Bootstrap
For other uses, see Bootstrapping and Bootstrapping .Operation Bootstrap is the name given to the ambitious projects which industrialized Puerto Rico in the mid-20th century.-History:...
, a design competition was held to select the design of a new hotel. The facility would be owned by the Puerto Rican government, but would be leased to the multinational
Multinational corporation
A multi national corporation or enterprise , is a corporation or an enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country. It can also be referred to as an international corporation...
hospitality operator that provided the better bid
BID
Bid may refer to:*Bidding, making a price offer in an auction, stock exchange, or card games*Bid , a British home shopping channel...
. The only requirements of the competition were that the hotel have 300 bedrooms, the necessary ancillary facilities, and that it would be located adjacent to the Fort San Jerónimo
Fort San Jerónimo
Fortín de San Gerónimo del Boquerón is a small fort located in the entrance to what is known today as the Condado Lagoon which faces the historic town of Miramar in San Juan, Puerto Rico....
in Puerta de Tierra. Three architectural firms in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
were invited: Schimmelpfennig, Ruiz y González; The Office of Henry Klumb
Henry Klumb
Heinrich Klumb was a German architect who worked in Puerto Rico. He was one of Puerto Rico's most prominent architects in the mid 20th Century.-Education and Early Life:...
; and Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa. Two additional firms from Florida were also invited to participate: Frederick G. Seelman from Palm Beach and Robert Swartburg from Miami. These two firms submitted designs in the style of the Spanish Renaissance
Spanish Renaissance
The Spanish Renaissance refers to a movement in Spain, emerging from the Italian Renaissance in Italy during the 14th century, that spread to Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries...
, while the three firms in Puerto Rico presented modern designs inspired by the International style.
The hotel was designed by Toro-Ferrer
Toro-Ferrer
Toro-Ferrer is an architectural firm in Puerto Rico, which included partners Osvaldo Toro and Miquel Ferrer. The firm designed important Modern Movement buildings in Puerto Rico, including theSupreme Court Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico....
, who also designed the Modern Movement-style Supreme Court Building
Supreme Court Building (Puerto Rico)
The Supreme Court Building in San Juan, Puerto Rico is a Modern Movement-style building from 1955. It was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2006....
in San Juan.
Built in 1949, the hotel has been an important tourism and activity center, both for local and international tourists. Its first of many famous guests were Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
and Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Ederle
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competitive swimmer. In 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. Gertrude Ederle was the daughter of a German immigrant who ran a butcher shop on Amsterdam Avenue in Manhattan; she was born in New York City. She was known as...
. Between the 1960s and 1980s, many important performers either worked or stayed at the Caribe Hilton Hotel, the most enduring of which being Marco Antonio Muñiz
Marco Antonio Muñiz
Marco Antonio Muñiz is a singer from Jalisco, Mexico. Known all over Latin America, Muñiz actually has declared publicly and in most countries he has visited, that Puerto Rico is his second country, and many Puerto Ricans consider him to be an "honorary Puerto Rican"...
. Other famous guests have included many world champion boxers during Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
's golden era of boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
. The national basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams of twelve countries also stayed there for 2003's pre-Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
tournament of the Americas.
The Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
movie was, during the hotel scenes, filmed here. The hotel's name in the movie is the "Caribe Paradise Resort".