Puerto Rico Museum of Art

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The Puerto Rico Museum of Art (Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is one of the largest and most famous museums in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The museum occupies an area of 130,000 square feet and it was officially inaugurated in July 1, 2000.

[edit] Design and architecture

The west wing of the museum is a neoclassic structure built and designed by architect William H. Shimmelphening in 1920. It originally housed one of the buildings of the Municipal Hospital and serves as the main entrance to the museum. It has 14 exhibition galleries, the permanent collection of the museum and a representative exhibition of Puerto Rican art since the 17th Century.

The east wing is a modern structure of five stories designed by Puerto Rican architects Otto Reyes and Luis Gutiérrez. It has an atrium, a theater with 400 seats, two galleries of 5,000 square feet each for temporary exhibitions, and a department of conservation. It also has an interactive family gallery, and a gallery for student exhibitions.

Through the atrium, visitors can reach the store, the restaurant, and the garden. A stained glass window designed by Eric Tabales titled "Sol Naciente Taíno", filters light from the outside.

The museum also has a botanical garden with contemporary sculptures from 15 local sculptors located along a pathway with 106,000 plants and 26 different species of trees. Finally, it has a water tank of 900 gallons, three waterfalls, with Koi fishes, and aquatic plants.

The museum has an advanced system of temperature control and lighting. This guarantees a certain level of relative humidity, as well as ensuring the preservation and conservation of the works of art.