Built in 1924 as the main office for the expanding Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño bank this building represents one of the last examples of the once popular turn-of-the-century eclectic architecture so common in Ponce after the 1918 earthquake.
 Banco Crédito was designed and built by Francisco Porrata-Doria, who at the time had recently returned to Puerto Rico after studying engineering at Cornell University and architectural courses at Columbia University.
 Porrata Doria was one of the island's finest architects, a pioneer in the development of a local modern architecture, and one of the architects responsible for what can be called "Ponce Monumental Architecture", of which Banco Crédito is a good example.
Among the directors and officers of this prominent bank were some of the most recognized names in the city of Ponce and Puerto Rico at large, including former Ponce mayor, Ulpiano Colóm.

This building together with the one next door it, Banco de Ponce, exemplify the effort of local financial institutions to compete with US-based banks for the wealth of Puerto Rico's booming sugar economy.

Banco Crédito's monumental exuberance expresses the pride of the institution, its solidity, and its capacity to hold its own against far more wealthy Stateside institutions competing for the dollars of the local moneyed classes.

The Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceños setting on the city's main square contributes to the elegance of this part of the city.
Several adjacent structures are already listed in the National Register, including the old Firehouse (1883) the City Hall (1845) and the Cathedral (1841).
The latter's facade is a 1932 Porrata-Doria design.
Built in 1924 as the main office for the expanding Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño bank this building represents one of the last examples of the once popular turn-of-the-century eclectic architecture so common in Ponce after the 1918 earthquake.  Banco Crédito was designed and built by Francisco Porrata-Doria, who at the time had recently returned to Puerto Rico after studying engineering at Cornell University and architectural courses at Columbia University.  Porrata Doria was one of the island's finest architects, a pioneer in the development of a local modern architecture, and one of the architects responsible for what can be called "Ponce Monumental Architecture", of which Banco Crédito is a good example. Among the directors and officers of this prominent bank were some of the most recognized names in the city of Ponce and Puerto Rico at large, including former Ponce mayor, Ulpiano Colóm.
This building together with the one next door it, Banco de Ponce, exemplify the effort of local financial institutions to compete with US-based banks for the wealth of Puerto Rico's booming sugar economy.
Banco Crédito's monumental exuberance expresses the pride of the institution, its solidity, and its capacity to hold its own against far more wealthy Stateside institutions competing for the dollars of the local moneyed classes.
The Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceños setting on the city's main square contributes to the elegance of this part of the city. Several adjacent structures are already listed in the National Register, including the old Firehouse (1883) the City Hall (1845) and the Cathedral (1841). The latter's facade is a 1932 Porrata-Doria design.
Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño (building)