Font-Ubides House
Encyclopedia
Casa Font-Ubides also known as the Residencia Monsanto (English: Monsanto Residence) is a historic building located on the north side of Castillo Street in Ponce, Puerto Rico
, in the city's historic district
. The building dates from 1913. It was designed by the architect Blas Silva
. The architecture consists of 19th Classical revival and Art Nouveau
architectural styles. The building is of architectural significance for its aggressive incorporation of curvilinear forms and ornament
s. The complete preservation of the original architecture of the Monsanto Residence, its unique design amongst the houses of Ponce, and its location within the historic urban core of the city qualify it as one of a series of grand houses and an integral part of the character of Ponce.
in the city of Ponce. Designed by the well-known architect Blas Silva in 1913, the residence stands out among the great houses of Ponce for its aggressive incorporation of curvilinear forms and ornament. Adapting the curves of the "Art Nouveau
" to the persistent Neo-classicism
of Puerto Rico and the recently born Creole
vocabulary of Ponce, Silva succeeded in creating a movement in architecture which broke away from the traditional forms while remaining within them. The traditional continuous raised verandah
along the front facade is broken up into two and twisted out of its usual linearity into the curved forms preserved today. Characteristic of the architecture to abound in Ponce contemporaneous to Castillo 34 is a profusion of aplique, and eclectic
combination and juxtaposition of shapes, particularly curvilinear, and a general ostentation of articulation. Blas Silva was probably the most established of the "wedding-cake architects" and was thus sought after mostly by the "nouveau riche" of the period. Silva's houses are among the richest in Ponce, among which the Monsanto Residence stands put for its circular porches. Other buildings by Blas Silva include the Frau Residence and the Salazar-Candal Residence
, both also listed in the NRHP.
and stone
building on the north side of the street, between Virtud and Salud Streets, in the Ponce Historic Zone
. The house consists of plastered masonry at the living level and pinkstone ashlar
at the podium
. Excessive ornamentation and exuberance of volumes denominates this house as what is known locally as "wedding cake architecture."
The facade is organized into three similar bay
s, each one consisting of a narrow, arched doorway with wooden panel double-doors, stained-glass lights and tiffany-style stained-glass fanlights. The central entrance doors contain wrought-iron panels in curved Art Nouveau
lines. Each opening is articulated with intricate, decorative plaster
surrounds and flaked with plaster festoon
mouldings. In addition, the central entry is crowned with a plaster cartouche
displaying the initials of the first owners, PF (Providencia Ubides and Federico Font).
A heavily ornamented three-bay facade is shaded by two gazebo
-like front terraces. Each bay consists of a series of four Corinthian
columns upon pedestal
s, arranged around a 3/4-circle plan. Decorative wrought-iron railing
s in curvilinear Art Nouveau designs span between each of the pedestals.
Each series of columns supports a cornice
with a festooned frieze and a parapet
above, decorated with circular-wreath baluster
s. The cornice wraps around the two porches, connecting the two in a curved pediment motif above the central entrance. Roman amphorae are located above the parapet, one at the location of each column.
A second-floor "mirador" or "belvedere
" projects upward above the first bay in a baroque
manner. The volume is generally cubical
in proportions, capped with an upwardly-curving cornice on each of its four sides, thus creating a groin-vault roof and ceiling. A small masonry pinnacle
is located above the cornice at each of the four corners of the mirador and a circular oculus
with stained glass panels occupies each of the four sides.
A curvilinear stair or "stoop
" conforms to the space available between the podiums of the two terraces, flowing up to the central entry. Once inside, a long, narrow hallway extends back from the street entry. Parlors and bedrooms open onto the hallway at either side, and the hallway terminates at a grand dining room at rear, with a kitchen at left and a terrace along the entire rear wall of the house. The upper level mirador is accessed by a cast-iron spiral staircase
located on the southeast corner of the parlor at bay 1. Characteristic interior features of the house include: decorative native ceramic
tile floors, intricate, pressed-tin ceilings in biblical
motifs, and skillfully carved wooden fanlights.
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, in the city's historic district
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
. The building dates from 1913. It was designed by the architect Blas Silva
Blas C. Silva Boucher
Blas C. Silva Boucher was a prominent twentieth-century Puerto Rican engineer from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He is credited with the creation of the Ponce Creole architectural style.-Early years:Blas Silva was born in Hormigueros...
. The architecture consists of 19th Classical revival and Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architectural styles. The building is of architectural significance for its aggressive incorporation of curvilinear forms and ornament
Ornament (architecture)
In architecture and decorative art, ornament is a decoration used to embellish parts of a building or object. Large figurative elements such as monumental sculpture and their equivalents in decorative art are excluded from the term; most ornament does not include human figures, and if present they...
s. The complete preservation of the original architecture of the Monsanto Residence, its unique design amongst the houses of Ponce, and its location within the historic urban core of the city qualify it as one of a series of grand houses and an integral part of the character of Ponce.
Significance
The Monsanto Residence at Calle Castillo No.34 is an architectural landmarkLandmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
in the city of Ponce. Designed by the well-known architect Blas Silva in 1913, the residence stands out among the great houses of Ponce for its aggressive incorporation of curvilinear forms and ornament. Adapting the curves of the "Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
" to the persistent Neo-classicism
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
of Puerto Rico and the recently born Creole
Creole language
A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable natural language developed from the mixing of parent languages; creoles differ from pidgins in that they have been nativized by children as their primary language, making them have features of natural languages that are normally missing from...
vocabulary of Ponce, Silva succeeded in creating a movement in architecture which broke away from the traditional forms while remaining within them. The traditional continuous raised verandah
Verandah
A veranda or verandah is a roofed opened gallery or porch. It is also described as an open pillared gallery, generally roofed, built around a central structure...
along the front facade is broken up into two and twisted out of its usual linearity into the curved forms preserved today. Characteristic of the architecture to abound in Ponce contemporaneous to Castillo 34 is a profusion of aplique, and eclectic
Eclecticism in art
Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style...
combination and juxtaposition of shapes, particularly curvilinear, and a general ostentation of articulation. Blas Silva was probably the most established of the "wedding-cake architects" and was thus sought after mostly by the "nouveau riche" of the period. Silva's houses are among the richest in Ponce, among which the Monsanto Residence stands put for its circular porches. Other buildings by Blas Silva include the Frau Residence and the Salazar-Candal Residence
Salazar-Candal House
Casa Salazar-Candal is a historic building located on the southeast corner of Isabel and Mayor Cantera streets in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in the city's historic district. The building dates from 1911. It was designed by the architect Blas Silva. The architecture consists of 19th Classical revival,...
, both also listed in the NRHP.
Physical appearance and description
The Monsanto Residence, located at 34 Castillo Street, is a one-storey, detached, masonryMasonry
Masonry is the building of structures from individual units laid in and bound together by mortar; the term masonry can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are brick, stone, marble, granite, travertine, limestone; concrete block, glass block, stucco, and...
and stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
building on the north side of the street, between Virtud and Salud Streets, in the Ponce Historic Zone
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
. The house consists of plastered masonry at the living level and pinkstone ashlar
Ashlar
Ashlar is prepared stone work of any type of stone. Masonry using such stones laid in parallel courses is known as ashlar masonry, whereas masonry using irregularly shaped stones is known as rubble masonry. Ashlar blocks are rectangular cuboid blocks that are masonry sculpted to have square edges...
at the podium
Podium
A podium is a platform that is used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. It derives from the Greek πόδι In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podia can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of an orchestra stands on a podium as do many...
. Excessive ornamentation and exuberance of volumes denominates this house as what is known locally as "wedding cake architecture."
The facade is organized into three similar bay
Bay (architecture)
A bay is a unit of form in architecture. This unit is defined as the zone between the outer edges of an engaged column, pilaster, or post; or within a window frame, doorframe, or vertical 'bas relief' wall form.-Defining elements:...
s, each one consisting of a narrow, arched doorway with wooden panel double-doors, stained-glass lights and tiffany-style stained-glass fanlights. The central entrance doors contain wrought-iron panels in curved Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
lines. Each opening is articulated with intricate, decorative plaster
Plaster
Plaster is a building material used for coating walls and ceilings. Plaster starts as a dry powder similar to mortar or cement and like those materials it is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after setting,...
surrounds and flaked with plaster festoon
Festoon
Festoon , a wreath or garland, and so in architecture a conventional arrangement of flowers, foliage or fruit bound together and suspended by ribbons, either from a decorated knot, or held in the mouths of lions, or suspended across the back of bulls heads as...
mouldings. In addition, the central entry is crowned with a plaster cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
displaying the initials of the first owners, PF (Providencia Ubides and Federico Font).
A heavily ornamented three-bay facade is shaded by two gazebo
Gazebo
A gazebo is a pavilion structure, sometimes octagonal, that may be built, in parks, gardens, and spacious public areas. Gazebos are freestanding or attached to a garden wall, roofed, and open on all sides; they provide shade, shelter, ornamental features in a landscape, and a place to rest...
-like front terraces. Each bay consists of a series of four Corinthian
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
columns upon pedestal
Pedestal
Pedestal is a term generally applied to the support of a statue or a vase....
s, arranged around a 3/4-circle plan. Decorative wrought-iron railing
Railing
Railing may refer to:* Guard rail, a structure blocking an area from access* Handrail, a structure designed to provide support, such as on a staircase* Insufflation , the act of inhaling a substance, generally a drug...
s in curvilinear Art Nouveau designs span between each of the pedestals.
Each series of columns supports a cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
with a festooned frieze and a parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
above, decorated with circular-wreath baluster
Baluster
A baluster is a moulded shaft, square or of lathe-turned form, one of various forms of spindle in woodwork, made of stone or wood and sometimes of metal, standing on a unifying footing, and supporting the coping of a parapet or the handrail of a staircase. Multiplied in this way, they form a...
s. The cornice wraps around the two porches, connecting the two in a curved pediment motif above the central entrance. Roman amphorae are located above the parapet, one at the location of each column.
A second-floor "mirador" or "belvedere
Belvedere (structure)
Belvedere is an architectural term adopted from Italian , which refers to any architectural structure sited to take advantage of such a view. A belvedere may be built in the upper part of a building so as to command a fine view...
" projects upward above the first bay in a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
manner. The volume is generally cubical
Cube
In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. The cube can also be called a regular hexahedron and is one of the five Platonic solids. It is a special kind of square prism, of rectangular parallelepiped and...
in proportions, capped with an upwardly-curving cornice on each of its four sides, thus creating a groin-vault roof and ceiling. A small masonry pinnacle
Pinnacle
A pinnacle is an architectural ornament originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire...
is located above the cornice at each of the four corners of the mirador and a circular oculus
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
with stained glass panels occupies each of the four sides.
A curvilinear stair or "stoop
Stoop
Stoop may refer to:* Adrian Stoop , English-naturalised rugby union player* Georgie Stoop , English professional tennis player* Urban stoop, a small staircase or porch* a mild form of kyphosis...
" conforms to the space available between the podiums of the two terraces, flowing up to the central entry. Once inside, a long, narrow hallway extends back from the street entry. Parlors and bedrooms open onto the hallway at either side, and the hallway terminates at a grand dining room at rear, with a kitchen at left and a terrace along the entire rear wall of the house. The upper level mirador is accessed by a cast-iron spiral staircase
Spiral staircase
Spiral staircase may refer to:* A type of stairway characterized by its spiral shape* The Spiral Staircase , a 1946 American psychological thriller film* The Spiral Staircase , a 1975 British film, a remake of the 1946 film...
located on the southeast corner of the parlor at bay 1. Characteristic interior features of the house include: decorative native ceramic
Ceramic
A ceramic is an inorganic, nonmetallic solid prepared by the action of heat and subsequent cooling. Ceramic materials may have a crystalline or partly crystalline structure, or may be amorphous...
tile floors, intricate, pressed-tin ceilings in biblical
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
motifs, and skillfully carved wooden fanlights.
See also
- Efrain Perez-Chanis, Gran Enciclopedia de Puerto Rico, Arquitectura.
- Archivo Historico de Ponce, Teatro La Perla, Ponce.
- Revista Plastica, Liga de Arte de San Juan, No. 15, Vol. 2, Sept. 1986