Timoteo Luberza
Timoteo Luberza[1] de San Martín (ca. 1820 - ca. 1895) was a nineteenth-century Puerto Rican engineer from Ponce, Puerto Rico. He was responsible for the 1875 Ponce water supply system, including the dam in Rio Portugues, and the Calle del Agua masonry arch aqueduct in barrio Portugues Urbano in Ponce.[2] In 1864, he served briefly as mayor of the nearby town of Yauco.[3] He is best remembered for designing Plaza del Mercado de Ponce.[4]
Timoteo Luberza de San Martín | |
---|---|
Born | c. 1820 |
Died | c. 1895 |
Nationality | Puerto Rican |
Known for | Civil Engineering, Architecture |
Notable work | Plaza del Mercado de Ponce, Aqueducts, Bridges, Roads, various other buildings. |
Works
Luberza was Public Works Inspecting Engineer for Puerto Rico's Western District.[5] Luberza also designed aqueducts, bridges, roads, and various buildings. In 1878, he owned hacienda Retiro in Barrio Vayas.[6]
Ponce-Juana Diaz and Coamo-Aibonito roads
In 1858, he designed the road from Ponce to Juana Diaz and, in 1861, the road from Coamo to Aibonito, parts of the Carretera Central.[7][8]
Plaza del Mercado de Ponce
In the early 1860s, Luberza designed Ponce's Plaza del Mercado Isabel II (Market place).[9] The marketplace opened in 1863 under the mayoral administration of Luis de Quixano.[10] Its design was a reduced model of the Paris Marketplace.[11]
Bridge Number 173
With a budget of 15,405 Spanish pesos, he also designed Bridge Number 173 over Río Las Minas in barrio San Idelfonso, Coamo, Puerto Rico. It was completed in 1862, and rebuilt in 1898 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, after being partly destroyed by the Spanish to keep the American invaders from advancing north towards San Juan at the Battle of Asomante. Bridge 173 is 6.7 meters long. It is on the road between Coamo and Juana Díaz, at kilometer 30.4 of PR-14, and it is the only original and still standing bridge on the southern section of the Carretera Central.[12]
Ponce aqueduct
Luberza designed the Ponce aqueduct system, called "Acueducto Alfonso XII".[13] It was 4,100 meters (2.5 mi) long.[14] Construction of the aqueduct started on 21 August 1876.[15] The 1876 cost was $220,000 U.S. dollars. It became operational in that year.[16] It was completed in 1880 and it operated for 48 years—until 1928.[17] At its highest point the aqueduct rose 50 feet high.[18] It was made possible by a generous 54,000 Spanish pesos[19] donation from Valentin Tricoche, who also left in his will moneys for the construction of a hospital, Hospital Tricoche.[20]
References
- Sometimes spelled "Lubelza". See, Eli D. Oquendo-Rodriguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto historico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 58. ISBN 978-1547284931
- National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation: Historic Bridges of Puerto Rico, c. 1840-1950. By Luis F. Pumarada O'Neill. National Park Service. July 31, 1994.
- Municipalities / Yauco: Mayors. Archived 30 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine Encyclopedia Puerto Rico. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- Plaza del Mercado. Travel Ponce. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- Eli D. Oquendo-Rodriguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto historico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 58. ISBN 978-1547284931
- Eli D. Oquendo-Rodriguez. Pablo L. Crespo-Vargas, editor. A Orillas del Mar Caribe: Boceto historico de la Playa de Ponce - Desde sus primeros habitantes hasta principios del siglo XX. First edition. June, 2017. Editorial Akelarre. Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones del Sur Oeste de Puerto Rico (CEISCO). Lajas, Puerto Rico. Page 58. ISBN 978-1547284931
- Colonia Española (Cronología). "Bienvenidos a Coamo." Municipality of Coamo. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic Bridges of Puerto Rico, c. 1840-1950. Luis F. Pumarada O'Neill. U.S. National Park Service. p. 7 and p. 11. 31 July 1994.
- Plaza del Mercado. Travel Ponce.
- Plaza del Mercado. Travel Ponce. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- Inauguran plaza del mercado de Ponce. WAPA-TV.
- PR Department of Transportation
- Sala Panoramica. Seccion de Estructuras Emblematicas. Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. March 2011.
- Diccionario Encyclopedico. Escolar.com. Tomo XVII. Page 97.
- Las Fiestas Populares de Ponce y La Villa de Ponce. Ramon Marin. 1875. Ponce, Puerto Rico: Imprenta El Vapor. 72 pages. (Reprinted September 1994. San Juan, Puerto Rico: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico. 281 pages. Page 20.[Socorro Girón. "Ramon Marin y su Tiempo." (foreword)]) Retrieved 23 July 2012.
- Annual report of the Secretary of War. United States War Department. 1915. Vol III. Page 80.
- Neysa Rodriguez Deynes. Breviario sobre la Historia de Ponce y sus Principales Lugares de Interes. 1st edition. 1991. Page 170. San Juan, PR: Model Offset Printing.
- Neysa Rodriguez Deynes, et al., Brevario sobre la historia de Ponce y sus principales lugares de interes. 1991. Museo de la Historia de Ponce. Secretaria de Arte y Cultura. Government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce. Ponce, Puerto Rico. p. 170.
- Diccionario Encyclopedico. Escolar.com. Tomo XVII. Page 98.
- AN ACT To declare November 15 of each year as “Philanthropy Day,” to acknowledge and promote valuable and generous philanthropic action of citizens on behalf of the People of Puerto Rico. S. B. 1812. Act Number 78. Approved March 7, 2003. Retrieved 27 December 2011.