Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad

The Iglesia de la Santísima Trinidad was organized by British residents in Ponce, Puerto Rico, as an Anglican congregation in 1869. They built their first church of wood and metal at this site in 1873, aided by materials sent by Queen Victoria's government, including a bell cast in England in 1870. Located at the intersection of Marina, Mayor, and Abolicion streets, it was the first Anglican church built on the island and in Latin America. Holy Trinity was still the only Protestant church in Puerto Rico at the time of the United States invasion in 1898.Because the old church had deteriorated, it was taken down; and a new church building was constructed on the same site in 1926. It has a synthesis of English neo-Gothic and Spanish-colonial styles. The 1870 bell was installed in the new church. The architect or designer is unknown. The church was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on September 29, 1986.Physical appearanceThe Holy Trinity Church is a free-standing structure located on the east side of "calle Marina" at the intersection of "calle Mayor" and "calle Abolicion", a public area formed by the merging of "calle Marina" and "calle Mayor".The building follows the typical cruciform plan, created by a double-height nave with a crossing situated just west of the semi-circular apse. The nave incorporates an interior balcony addition above the main entrance. Concrete pilaster masses along the side walls support a concrete plate which, in turn, supports the wooden king trusses of the exposed roof construction. The side walls are divided into five bays of equal width by the pilaster masses. Bays 1 through 4 are punctured by attenuated, circular-arch, glazed windows of gothic proportions, and the transept is located at bay 5. All interior walls are free of ornamentation.