Parque (Santurce)


Parque is an urbanized beachfront residential district with various upscale condos in the barrio of [Santurce, Rail transport in Puerto Rico|San Juan, Puerto Rico|Santurce] in San Juan, the capital municipality of Puerto Rico. Immediately next to the Condado resort area, about from the Old San Juan historic quarter, Isla Verde resort area, Hato Rey business center, and SJU airport, it is centered around the eastern end of Ashford Ave. and western half of McLeary Ave., extending east–west for about from the Ocean Park residential to Condado resort area. It is named after Parque Borinquén, known today as Parque del Indio, originally a large park built on the beach, which was serviced by the "Parque" or "Park" tramway extension of the San Juan electric tramway beginning in 1903.

Description

One of forty subbarrios of the barrio of Santurce in the capital municipality of San Juan, the beachfront residential district of Parque is bordered by the Condado resort area to the west and the Ocean Park residential area to the east. In the west, the boundary to Condado is marked by Avenida José de Diego ''. In the east, the boundary to Ocean Park is marked by Calle Santa Ana and Calle María Mozco ,'' both of which form the same street. In the south, the boundary runs along Calle Loíza. In the north, it is bounded by the beach in the North Atlantic Ocean.

History

Both the Borinquén Park and "Parque" or "Park" tramway extension were constructed by the San Juan light & Transit Co. at the turn of the 20th century. Only a small section of the original park, known today as the Parque del Indio, remains next to the Park Terrace and Las Olas condos. Initially, the park covered the present-day five city blocks bounded by Avenida José de Diego to the west, Calle F. Krug to the east, Calle Loíza to the south, and the North Atlantic Ocean coast to the north. The city blocks were plotted since at least 1941.
Demolished in 1946, the "Parque" or "Park" tramway extension used to travel north from the principal San Juan Tramway on Juan Ponce de León Avenue through Calle del Parque to the end of the park on the beach, which featured a movie theater where the Park Terrace and Las Olas condos currently stand since at least 1918.

Demographics

In 1940, Parque had a population of 2,070.
In 2000, Parque had a population of 3,251.
In 2010, Parque had a population of 2,871 and a population density of 23,925 persons per square mile.