Imagine Life Here / Imagine Vivir Aquí

About 350 years ago, Spanish soldiers were stationed at Fort San Juan de la Cruz, commonly called El Cañuelo, to guard the entrance to San Juan Harbor and the mouth of the Bayamón River from enemy attack, though year after year no enemy came. The fort was more than a simple artillery battery: surrounded by water, it was designed to sustain a garrison for many days, with embrasures for six cannon and space for up to 200 men, although typically only about a dozen were probably stationed there. Supplies reached El Cañuelo by vessel, and until 1943, when the U.S. Army built up the island, the fort remained surrounded by water.