Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Caribe Hilton Hotel
The Caribe Hilton Hotel, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is one of the best known hotels in the Caribbean.
In early 1946, as part of the Puerto Rican industralization effort known as Operation Boostrap , a design competition was held to select the design a the new hotel. The only requirements of the competition were that the hotel have 300 bedrooms, the necessary ancillary facilities and that it would be located adjacent to the Fort San Jerónimo in Puerta de Tierra. Three architectural firms in Puerto Rico were invited (all newly created): Schimmelpfennig, Ruiz y González, The Office of Henry Klumb and Toro Ferrer y Torregrosa. Two additional firms from the States were also invited to participate: Frederick G. Seelman from Palm Beach and Robert Swartburg from Miami Beach. These two firms submitted designs in the style of the Spanish Renaissance , while the three firms in Puerto Rico presented modern designs inspired in the international style.
The winning design was submitted by Toro Ferrer and Torregrosa, a building of modern architectural expression. In the words of Teodoro Moscoso, the architect of Operation Boostrap : a hotel that would emphasize the aspects of good old USA of the Puerto Rican situation the modern and efficient more than the curious and picturesque.
Built in 1949, the hotel has been an important tourism and activity center, both for local and international tourists. During the 1970s and 1980s, many important performers either worked or stayed at the Caribe Hilton Hotel. Other famous guests have included many world champion boxers during Puerto Rico's so called golden era of boxing. The national teams of 12 countries stayed there for the 2003 basketball pre-Olympic of the Americas tournament. The building itself is one of the first features that passengers arriving in Puerto Rico see from their plane windows.
Puerto Ricans even coined a famous phrase after the Caribe Hilton: Puerto Ricans would say Vete al carajo! for go to hell. Since carajo is considered a bad word, those who want to express that feeling without talking dirty would say Vete al Caribe Hilton! or Vete al Caribe! (Hilton).
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