School of Plastic Arts and Design of Puerto Rico, San Juan

The School of Plastic Arts and Design of Puerto Rico is a university devoted to visual arts and design, housed in a distinctive 19th-century building near historic fortifications. Locally, the structure is still sometimes called El Manicomio, or “The Madhouse,” recalling its original use as a psychiatric institution. Its long arcades, central dome and large footprint reflect a formal layout influenced by classical architecture.

Completed in the 19th century, the building later served as a military hospital and, after 1898, became part of the Fort Brooke Military Reservation under U.S. control. The army occupied it until 1961 and altered much of the interior, replacing some original tiles, wooden stairways and masonry elements with reinforced concrete. The art school moved into the property in 1976, adapting its large rooms into studios, classrooms and workshops.

The school developed from programmes of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture, supported by Ricardo Alegría. Early teachers included Myrna Báez, Rafael Ríos Rey and José Antonio Torres Martinó. Today, students study fields from painting and sculpture to photography and design, while the building’s past has inspired ghost stories of footsteps and unexplained activity.