Parque de Bombas

The Parque de Bombas is the most photographed building in Puerto Rico and the unofficial symbol of Ponce. The red-and-black striped firehouse, built in 1882 for the city's agricultural and industrial exposition, is a riot of Victorian colour in the middle of Plaza las Delicias: Moorish arches, ornamental fretwork, two octagonal towers, and a paint scheme that makes it impossible to miss. It served as the city's main fire station until 1990 and is now a small free museum dedicated to Ponce's firefighting history.

The museum inside is modest — old equipment, photographs, uniforms — but the exterior is the real reason to visit. It sits opposite the cathedral, creating one of the more visually surprising juxtapositions in Caribbean architecture. The building is best seen in the early morning, when the plaza is quiet and the light falls on the facade without distraction, or at night when it is illuminated.

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The firehouse was built in 1882 for a trade fair and was never intended to be a permanent fire station — but Ponce's fire brigade immediately claimed it, and it served as their headquarters for over a century. Its red-and-black Moorish Revival design, with elaborate wooden fretwork and two small towers, became so associated with the city that when proposals were made to demolish it in the 1980s, the outcry was immediate. It was restored instead and declared a National Historic Landmark. The building appears on everything from Puerto Rican postage stamps to rum bottles.