The Hotel Ponce Intercontinental (also known as "El Ponce") is an abandoned hotel with a still existing structure at Cerro del Vigía in Ponce, Puerto Rico. The structure is considered a historic landmark and a national icon in the city of Ponce and Puerto Rico.Nuevos dueños: Ponderan la demolición del Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 17 June 2009. Page 6. Retrieved 20 August 2021. The property is currently owned by Misla Hospitality Group,El mito brillará de nuevo: revivirán al Ponce Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez & Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. 28 July 2020. Accessed 28 July 2020. Archived on 29 July 2020, at 19:20:44, at the Wayback Machine. (Printed edition: Obras inician en noviembre: El mito brillará de nuevo: revivirán al Ponce Intercontinental. Year 37. Issue 1913. 29 July - 4 August 2020. pp. 1-3.) "Más recientemente, en el año 2018, la estructura fue adquirida por Misla Hospitality Group." a family of local Ponce investors who bought it from CBC Development.El mito brillará de nuevo: revivirán al Ponce Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez & Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. 28 July 2020. Accessed 28 July 2020. Archived on 29 July 2020, at 19:20:44, at the Wayback Machine. (Printed edition: Obras inician en noviembre: El mito brillará de nuevo: revivirán al Ponce Intercontinental. Year 37. Issue 1913. 29 July - 4 August 2020. pp. 1-3.) Más recientemente, en el año 2018, la estructura fue adquirida por Misla Hospitality Group. Its architecture is classical modern.El Ponce Intercontinental: Joya que debe ser rescatada. Luis V. Badillo. Badillo & Associates. La Perla del Sur. Year 27. Issue 1334. 24 June 2009. p. 20. Accessed 4 May 2016. When it opened, in 1960, it became the first modern hotel in the city.Elements to Bear in Mind about Ponce Architecture. Jorge Ortiz Colom. Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, Ponce Office. November 2007. Page 7. Accessed 20 March 2018. The structure is currently under reconstruction and is expected to reopen under the Marriott's Tribute Portfolio brand.

Location and features The hotel is located in the northern section of the city of Ponce, on a hill just north of El Vigia Hill, behind Cruceta del Vigía and Castillo Serralles.PRIDCO Expected to sell the former Intercontinental Hotel. Caribbean Business. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 19 May 2000 The hotel had a large circular outdoor swimming pool, a dining room named Salón Ponciana, a cocktail bar named Bar Coquí, and a casual restaurant called El Cafetal.Hotel Ponce Intercontinental: La Historia comienza el 1ro de Febrero de 1960... El Nuevo Día. 1 February 1960, p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2011. The hotel also had a casino that operated until 1973. On top of the hotel, WRIK-TV had its transmission antenna.Luis Fortuno Janeiro. Album Historico de Puerto Rico (1692–1963). Page 408. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta Fortuno. 1963. The hotel is on a lot measuring approximately 25 cuerdas (roughly 25 acres).Yace olvidado el Ponce Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 8 August 2012. (Title in the printed version: "¿Tendra Otra Oportunidad?: Yace Olvidado el Otrora Hotel Ponce Intercontinental." Year 30. Issue 1497. Page 14. Jason Rodríguez Grafal. 8 August 2012.") Retrieved 20 August 2021. The land area is 22.5 cuerdas. Premian plan para restaurar la estructura del Ponce Intercontinental: Proponen rescatar la estructura y convertirla en un moderno espacio residencial para jóvenes sin hogar de la comunidad LGBTT. Aurora Rivera Arguinzoni. El Nuevo Dia. Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. 2 July 2016. Accessed 15 January 2017.

Design

The hotel was designed in 1957–58 by American architect William B. Tabler, FAIA. Tabler, whose offices were in New York City, designed hotels worldwide for the Statler chain, Hilton, and Intercontinental.Datos Relevantes Arquitectonicos del Hotel Ponce Intercontinental. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Nuevos dueños: Ponderan la demolición del Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla Del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. Year 27. Issue 1333. 17–23 June 2009. Pages 6-7. Retrieved 1 November 2011. Accessed 20 August 2021.

Tabler designed the Ponce Intercontinental in a modern style with ample space for cross ventilation and light, interior details, and quasi-futuristic traits. The design takes advantage of the location of the building for natural ventilation and exposure to large and spacious panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea from the top sector of the El Vigia Hill in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

The architectural design of this hotel is simple but consistent with a curvilinear theme which is unique in Puerto Rico. The concrete shells that housed the restaurant, and activities rooms are geared to take advantage of large open spaces with majestic views of the Caribbean Sea. The use of ornamental roofs is typical of modern architecture of the mid-1950s era.

History

The first stone of the hotel was placed on January 6, 1958, under the project name “Hotel El Ponceño”,Colocan Primera Piedra Hotel Ponce Intercontinental. El Dia. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 8 January 1958. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Colocan Primera Piedra del Hotel El Ponceño. El Mundo. 11 January 1958. Retrieved 20 November 2018. and the hotel opened as a luxury hotel on 1 February 1960.Hotel Ponce Intercontinental:La Historia comienza el 1_ero de Febrero de 1960... El Nuevo Día. 1 February 1960, p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Nuevos dueños: Ponderan la demolición del Intercontinental. Jason Rodríguez and Omar Alfonso. La Perla del Sur. Ponce, Puerto Rico. 17 June 2009. Page 6. Retrieved 20 August 2021. The cost of the construction of the hotel was US$3.75 million ($ million today).30 millones de dólares en progreso para Ponce. El Mundo. 13 July 1959. Retrieved 20 November 2018. The Hotel operated for 15 years (from 1960 to 1975) and was of particular importance in the collective memory of the Ponce's popular society in the 1960s through the 1970s.Datos Relevantes Arquitectonicos del Hotel Ponce Intercontinental Retrieved 28 September 2011. The hotel was a bustling center of entertainment that stood out as a center of large musical events of those years. The Ponce Intercontinental is remembered for being the birthplace of great artistic, social and political events of its time. Celebrities, such as Chucho Avellanet, Iris Chacon, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Celia Cruz, Marco Antonio Muñiz, José José, Sandro de America, Camilo Sesto, Raphael, and others, stayed or performed at the hotel.Musicos, Artistas, Politicos y Otras Personalidades que Estuvieron en el Hotel (Algunos). Retrieved 8 November 2018.

Closing The hotel's definitive closure was first announced on April 21, 1975, slated for May 30, due to the hotel's profound economical crisis as losses were accumulating over $1.7 million ($ millions today). The hotel's management were disposed to accept offers to avoid the hotel's closure, requiring $1 million ($ millions today) investment. A group of local Ponce investors were interested in leasing the hotel to continue operating, once Inter·Continental Hotels ceases operations.

However, the interested group didn't have the necessary economical resources to continue operating the hotel, and the hotel was finally closed on May 31, 1975, at 11 pm, a day after the anticipated date, losing over 145 jobs. 7 guests were staying at the hotel on the last day of operations. After the hotel's closure, Inter·Continental Hotels continued in charge of the building's maintenance until 1980.

The hotel's location, high costs, labor conflicts, and the lack of appropriated road access were considered factors for the hotel's economical problems that caused the closure.¡Bienvenidos! Retrieved 28 September 2011.No ocurrió así. El Vocero, 4 March 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Remodelarian Hotel Intercontinental de Ponce a un Costo de $10 Millones. Clarence Beardsley. El Mundo. 2 October 1980. San Juan, Puerto Rico. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Reabren el Ponce Intercontinental. El Vocero. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 4 March 1981. p.5. Retrieved 28 September 2011.Inversionistas California Compraran El Hotel Ponce. El Vocero. 18 September 1980. p. 12. Retrieved 28 September 2011. The hotel's only access road was through a narrow one-way, one-lane alley in a financially deprived neighborhood north of the city. The lack of touristic promotion outside San Juan Metropolitan Area and the hotel's bad administration were also blamed for the hotel's failure.

Re-construction

In 1979, the mayor of Ponce José G. Tormos Vega announced that the hotel would reopen under new owners for the 1979 Pan American Games, which was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, the hotel didn't reopen and in 1981, a group of Puerto Rican and American investors were reportedly looking into purchasing the property. No other developments were subsequently reported.Gestionan Compra del Hotel Ponce. El Vocero. San Juan, Puerto Rico. 4 March 1981. p. 5. Retrieved 28 September 2011.

In 1985, and under Government of Puerto Rico guidelines, Puerto Rico's Compañia de Fomento Industrial ("PRIDCO") decided to buy the structure on 7 November 1985, with the goal of remodeling it, expanding its facilities, and providing the city of Ponce with world-class accommodations. PRIDCO commissioned the architectural firm of Pablo Quinones & Associates to initiate investigations and studies on the condition of the main structure with the intention of upgrading it to modern codes. The design team generated its recommendations, which were delivered to the PRIDCO. Simultaneously, the team traveled to New York City in 1985–86, where it located the original plans at the offices of William B. Tabler. As a design strategy for its architectural features, they decided to remodel the essence of its main structure and proposed an enlargement to accommodate a modern convention center within the premises.Datos Relevantes Arquitectónicos del Hotel Ponce Intercontinental. Retrieved 28 September 2011.

On 7 October 1985, as a result of the landslide in Mameyes, the hotel was used as temporary accommodation for people affected by the floods. As the time of the relocation of the affected tenants became longer than anticipated, plans to enlarge and re-model the hotel were abandoned.Datos Relevantes Arquitectónicos del Hotel Ponce Intercontinental. Retrieved 28 September 2011. Archived.

In 1999, George Philip Rivera, a local businessman and entrepreneur, became interested in buying and in remodeling property, and have it operate as El Vigía Hotel & Casino. He envisioned the construction of villas, a multilevel parking garage and banquet facilities. However, by 2001 the sale had fallen through and PRIDCO put the property for sale again. CBC Development won the auction for the property and planned to demolish the structure and build a 365-unit walk-up apartment complex.