The following is a timeline of the history of the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
16th–18th centuries
1511 – August 8: First Catholic Diocese in the Americas established in San Juan. 1513 Construction of a wooden cathedral in the Islet of San Juan begins. Escuela de gramática established by bishop Alonso Manso."Hispanic Firsts", By; Nicolas Kanellos, publisher Visible Ink Press; ; p.40 1521 August 15: Ciudad de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico officially founded by Spanish colonists after abandoning nearby Caparra. Construction of Casa Blanca for the Ponce de León family begins. Platting and construction of several streets in Old San Juan including Plaza de Armas and Plaza de la Catedral. 1523 – Convento de Santo Tomas de Aquino founded. 1524 – Nuestra Señora de la Concepción Hospital built. 1526 – October 4: St. Francis Hurricane occurs. 1528 – San José Church construction begins. 1529 – October 18: Harbor attack by Caribs. 1530 August 5: Hurricane occurs. Casa Blanca built. 1533 – Construction of La Fortaleza begins by orders from King Charles I of Spain. 1540 – La Fortaleza built. 1542 – Cathedral of San Juan Bautista construction begins. 1560 – City wall construction begins. 1560s – San Antonio Bridge built across Condado Lagoon. 1568 September 7: Hurricane occurs. Fortín San Antonio is built to protect the eastern entrance to the San Juan Islet. 1580 – San Juan becomes the capital of the Captaincy General of Puerto Rico. 1582 – Population: 850 (approximate estimate). 1591 – Castillo San Felipe del Morro construction begins.. Retrieved May 24, 2017 1594 – Witch-hunt, the first of its kind in the Americas, occurs in what is now Puerta de Tierra by orders of bishop and inquisitor Don Nicolás Ramos. 1595 – November 22: Battle of San Juan begins. 1598 – June: San Juan taken by British forces; Boquerón battery sacked. 1605 – Cabildo constructed in Plaza de San Juan. 1615 – September 12: Hurricane occurs. 1625 – September 24: Town besieged by Dutch forces. 1651 – Monasterio del Señor San José de la Orden de nuestra Señora del Carmen founded by Doña Ana Lanzós. 1733 – Palacio Episcopal construction begins (approximate date). 1750 – establishment of the first advance defense line on the eastern end of the San Juan Islet. 1756 – Church of Saint Francis of Assisi established by the Third Order of Franciscans. 1760 – Santurce founded as San Mateo de Cangrejos. 1769 – San Gerónimo Powderhouse built. 1770 – Miraflores Powderhouse built. 1780 – Capilla del Santo Cristo de la Salud built. 1783 – Castillo de San Cristóbal built. 1787 May 2: 1787 Boricua earthquake causes considerable damage to the city fortifications.Earthquake History of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on USGSEl Morro, San Cristobal y San Geronimo en peligro en caso de terremoto on NoticiasOnline (6/7/2009) May 3: Fiesta de Cruz begins. 1791 – Fortín de San Gerónimo is built. 1797 – April: San Juan besieged by British forces. 1800 – construction of the Arsenal de San Juan begins.
19th century 1806 – Gaceta de Puerto Rico newspaper begins publication. 1810 – Construction of a Camino Real between San Juan and Río Piedras (today the Ponce de León Avenue). 1813 – Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País en Puerto Rico founded. 1820 – Population: 7,658. 1822 – Board of charity established. 1823 – Sociedad Filarmónica (philharmonic society) formed. 1832 Church of San Mateo de Cangrejos of Santurce built. established. Teatro Municipal (theatre) opens. 1840 – Colegio de Abogados founded. 1845 – Town divided into barrios San Francisco, San Juan, Santa Barbara, Santo Domingo, and Ballajá. 1846 – Castillo San Felipe del Morro lighthouse is built. 1847 – San Juan Waterworks established in Río Piedras. 1848 – Cafe de La Mallorquina in business. 1850 – Real Intendencia Building constructed. 1853 Cataño-San Juan steamship begins operating. Marketplace built in Santa Barbara barrio. 1854 – Paseo de la Princesa established. 1858 – Telegraph service is established in San Juan and Santurce. 1859 – Barrios De la Marina and Puerta de Tierra become part of San Juan. 1863 Santurce becomes part of San Juan. Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery established. 1864 – Ballajá Barracks built. 1865 – Colegio de Párvulos built. 1867 – November 18: a 7.5 earthquake heavily damages portions of the city wall, prompting the demolition of its southeastern portion afterwards. 1873 – March 22: Slavery officially abolished in Puerto Rico. 1876 – April 30: Ateneo Puertorriqueño (cultural entity) founded. 1877 – Cárcel de la Princesa (prison) built. 1878 – steam tramway service established between San Juan and Río Piedras. 1879 – José Ramón Becerra y de Gárate becomes mayor. 1882 – Ponce de León statue erected in the . 1883 – Auxilio Mutuo Hospital established. 1884 – October: González Padín, the first department store in Puerto Rico, opens its first store in San Juan. 1885 – Civil Hospital built. 1888 – La Carbonera barrio becomes part of San Juan. 1893 October 5: Sociedad Anónima de Economías y Préstamos (later Banco Popular de Puerto Rico) founded. Christopher Columbus statue erected in the Plaza Colón at the site of the former Puerta de Tierra city gate. Electric street lighting established.Gilberto Aponte Torres, San Mateo de Cangrejos: Notas para su Historia (1985) 1894 – Population: 23,414. 1897 – Phone infrastructure established. 1898 May 12: Bombardment of San Juan by United States forces. June 22: Second Battle of San Juan. June 28: Third Battle of San Juan. August 12: End of hostilities between US and Spanish military forces. United States Military Government begins. October: Francisco del Valle becomes mayor. Carretera Central (Ponce-San Juan Road) built. San Juan News begins publication. Railway built (approximate date). 1899 March 12: Mission of St. John the Baptist, the first Episcopal mission in Puerto Rico, is established. April 11: Town becomes part of United States-annexed Puerto Rico per Treaty of Paris. Chamber of commerce founded. Population: 32,048. 1900 May 1: Foraker Act comes into force, civil government for Puerto Rico begins. United States Military Government ends. Supreme Court of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rico Department of Education headquartered in San Juan. Insane asylum established. Modern La Perla settlement begins (approximate date).
20th century
1900s–1950s 1901 Trolley de San Juan begins operating. San Juan High School opens. 1902 – City government formed into legislative and executive branches. 1903 March 12: University of Puerto Rico established in Rio Piedras as Escuela Normal. Barriada Miranda, the first official public residential area, is built in Puerta de Tierra. Roberto H. Todd Wells becomes mayor. 1904 – Camp Las Casas established by the US Army."Historia Militar de Puerto Rico"; by Héctor Andrés Negroni; pg. 370; 1907 – José Julián Acosta School, the first public elementary school, is built in Puerta de Tierra. 1909 – Harbor enlarged. 1910 March 6: Puerto Rico Ilustrado begins publication. Dos Hermanos Bridge opens. First Lutheran and Methodist churches in San Juan open in Puerta de Tierra. Santurce marketplace is established. Tres Banderas Theater opens, the first of many theaters to be established in an area known as Broadway of Puerto Rico during the 1910s and 1920s. Population: 48,716. 1913 – Cine Luna opens. 1914 – Jose V. Toledo Federal Building and United States Courthouse is built. 1915 March 25: the first shot of World War I fired against the Central Powers by the regular armed forces of the United States is shot by Lieutenant Teófilo Marxuach in the San Juan Bay."US Naval Institute Proceedings"; "A Breach of Neutrality"; by: Lt. Isaiah Olch, US Navy; Vol. 62; July - December 1936 December 8: Church, school and convent of San Agustín are officially opened. Carnegie Library, the first purpose-built library in Puerto Rico, is built. 1917 – July 24: Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico is officially inaugurated. 1918 – October 11: 1918 San Fermín earthquake. 1919 October 16: Condado Vanderbilt Hotel in business. San Juan Asamblea Municipal (municipal assembly) and Concejo de Administración (administrative council) created. 1920 – Population: 70,707. 1921 – September 21: Academia del Perpetuo Socorro founded. 1922 – December 3: WKAQ radio begins broadcasting. 1923 U.S. military Fort Buchanan established. Mansion Georgetti (residence) built. 1925 Academia San Jorge founded. Loaiza Cordero Institute for Blind Children, the first of its kind in Puerto Rico, is founded. 1926 – School of Tropical Medicine established by Bailey Ashford. 1928 September: San Felipe Segundo Hurricane occurs. Luis Muñoz Rivera Park laid out. Workers protest at Puerta de Tierra and its docks. 1929 January 1: Women's suffrage begins in Puerto Rico. February 11: Capitol of Puerto Rico building constructed. 1930 February: Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Baptist is built. Population: 114,715. 1931 – San Juan Custom House built. 1932 – September–October: San Ciprian hurricane. 1934 – Luis Muñoz Rivera Park opens to the public. 1935 May 28: Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration headquartered in San Juan. November 12: Estadio Sixto Escobar opened. Universidad del Sagrado Corazón is established. 1937 – Puerta de Tierra Tenement Group Project A, today known as El Falansterio de Puerta de Tierra, is built. 1939 – Martín Peña Bridge built. 1940 United States Naval Air Station Isla Grande (Isla Grande Airport) established. Population: 169,247. 1942 – October 10: Normandie Hotel opens. 1943 March 3: Fort Brooke is established by the US Army. July 28: 1943 Puerto Rico earthquake. 1945 – January 2: Roberto Sánchez Vilella becomes Mayor of San Juan. 1946 – January 2: Felisa Rincón de Gautier becomes Mayor of San Juan. 1947 – WAPA, WIAC, WITA, and WRSJ radio begin broadcasting. 1948 – design adopted. 1949 February 4: San Juan National Historic Site established by the National Park Service. December 9: Caribe Hilton Hotel built. 1950 October 30: San Juan Nationalist revolt. Residencial Las Casas housing complex built. Population: 224,767. 1951 July 1: Río Piedras becomes part of San Juan municipality. Museum of History, Anthropology and Art of the University of Puerto Rico, the first purpose-built museum in Puerto Rico, officially opens. 1952 – City officially becomes capital of newly created Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. 1953 San Juan Cruise Port officially established. Sha'are Zedeck, the first synagogue in Puerto Rico, opens in Santurce.Jewish Life Emerging, Jewish News, Retrieved November 12, 2008. 1954 May: WAPA-TV and WKAQ-TV (television) begin broadcasting. Ballets de San Juan founded. 1955 June: Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and Archivo General de Puerto Rico headquartered in city. Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport opens. 1956 – Casals Festival of classical music begins. 1958 December: La Concha Resort opens. Supreme Court Building officially inaugurated by U.S. Supreme Court chief justice Earl Warren. Casa del Libro established. 1959 May 11: Puerto Rico Metropolitan Bus Authority established. June: U.S. National Governors Association meets in San Juan. The San Juan Star English-language newspaper begins publication.
1960s–1990s
1960 Office of Secretario de la Asamblea Municipal (secretary of the municipal assembly) created. Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico opens in the former Colegio de las Madres del Sagrado Corazón. Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico formed. Cataño Ferry regular service is established by the Puerto Rico Ports Authority. Population: 451,658. 1962 January 27: Hotel El Convento is opened on the former Carmelite monastery. Hiram Bithorn Stadium is opened.