What to do and see in Ponce, Puerto Rico: The Best Specialty Museums

Casa Paoli (English: Paoli House) is a historic house in barrio Cuarto, Ponce. The house is significant as the birthplace of Antonio Paoli (1871-1946), a tenor who was the "first Puerto Rican to reach international recognition in the performing arts" and "one of the most outstanding opera singers of all times". The house was the childhood home of the artist and he was introduced to art and opera at this house. In 1987, the house was turned into a museum to honor the career of Antonio Paoli. The building was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

This loudly-colored building in black, red, green and yellow, was built for a volunteer fire-fighter's brigade.

Evoking the era of the sugar barons of Puerto Rico, this beautiful Spanish Revival mansion was built in 1930 for the Serrallés family, owners of the Don Q rum distillery.

Casa Armstrong Poventud was the first of its kind--it set the stage for the Ponce Creole architectural style that characterizes the area. It was designed by Manuel Domenech, a Puerto Rican architect, and belonged to Carlos Armstrong Toro, a well known merchant. It is located in the Ponce Historic Zone, right across the famous Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe cathedral. As of 1991, Casa Armstrong has been operating as a museum.

On a Sunday in 1937, a group of people from the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party began to march around the streets of Ponce, when suddenly, the local police authority opened fire. The event resulted in what is now known as the Ponce Massacre, and has impacted the lives of many poncenos for generations. The Ponce Massacre Museum commemorates this event. It displays pictures of various nationalist groups of the era and other historical facts. The museum also has a section dedicated to the life of Pedro Albizu Campos, one of the most important nationalist leaders of the time.

See a variety of Spanish, African and Indian musical instruments on display, as well as exhibits on beloved Puerto Rican musicians.

This museum, inaugurated on January 21 of 1992, was built on the grounds of the old Charles H. Terry athletic park in honor of the prominent baseball player Francisco "Pancho" Coimbre. It also highlights other citizens through the gallery of iconic sport athletes from Ponce. The museum illustrates the history of this national sports figure, who was the first Puerto Rican to be a member of United States' black baseball leagues.

Museo del Autonomismo Puertorriqueno is a very small museum located within the Roman Baldorioty de Castro National Pantheon in Ponce. It was founded in 2006 with the purpose of highlighting some of Ponce's political history, particularly the city's crucial role in its autonomy. According to some of the museum's entries, Ponce is the birthplace of Puerto Rican autonomism.