Convento de los Dominicos (Dominican Convent), San Juan

Juan Ponce de León gave the Dominicans the land, and they built something that outlasted everyone's intentions. Construction on the convent began in 1522 — ten years before the adjacent church rose beside it — on the northernmost edge of the new settlement, chosen for its breezes and views. The Spanish government secularized it in the 19th century, the Americans took it after 1898, and in 1960 the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña acquired and rehabilitated it. The oldest building most visitors walk past without looking up.