Pedro Adolfo de Castro

• Name — Pedro Adolfo de Castro Besosa • Born — 5 January 1895 • Birthplace — New York City, United States • Died — 18 October 1936 • Place of death — San Juan, Puerto Rico • Known for — Architect • Training — Syracuse University • Notable Works — Puerto Rico Capitol, Castillo Serrallés, Casa de España, Residencia Jacobo Cabassa (Ponce), Escuela Central de Santurce, Centro de Recreo en Santiago de los Caballeros (D.R.) • Patrons — Government of Puerto Rico • Spouse — Altagracia Gayá Ballesteros • Children — Pedro A. de Castro Gayá

He was born Pedro Adolfo de Castro Besosa in January 1895, in Brooklyn, New York, to Pedro De Castro (1867 - 1928; from Ceiba, Puerto Rico) and Manuela Mima Besosa (1872 - 1963; from Ponce, Puerto Rico). His family moved back to Puerto Rico when he was five years old.

At the age of 19, in 1914, he traveled to New York where he attended school at the Syracuse University, graduating in 1918 with a degree in architecture. He was the first Puerto Rican to graduate from a U.S. school of architecture.

Returning to Puerto Rico in 1918, De Castro Besosa started working at the Puerto Rico Department of the Interior in San Juan, under the direction of Puerto Rico's state architect Adrian Finlayson. During his two-year stay with the government of Puerto Rico (1919-1921), he designed the Puerto Rico Capitol building and the Escuela Central de Santurce building. From his insular government job, Besosa moved to the private sector working for Antonín Nechodoma. There, he designed not only buildings but also lamps, mosaics, furniture, and other products. His private practice was marked by his own interpretation of Spanish architecture to define a purely local Puerto Rican architecture.

De Castro Besosa was the architect most involved in the development of the architecture of the Condado section of San Juan, and his works can be seen throughout the Condado area. He also designed residential estates such as Castillo Serrallés (1926) and Residencia Jacobo Cabassa (1934), both in Ponce. During the years between 1918 and 1936, De Castro Besosa designed over 160 residential projects, 35 apartment buildings, 16 theaters, plus several commercial buildings and civic clubs. He also worked extensively in the Dominican Republic, where he designed and built residential projects as well as the Centro de Recreo en Santiago de los Caballeros (the Santiago de los Caballeros Recreational Center). Several of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Works include: • Casa de España, Ponce de Leon Ave., San Juan, Puerto Rico (de Castro, Pedro), NRHP-listed • Castillo Serrallés, Cerro El Vigia, Ponce, Puerto Rico (de Castro, Pedro Adolfo), NRHP-listed • Edificio Victory Garden, 1001 Ponce de Leon Ave., corner of Elisa Colberg St., San Juan, Puerto Rico (De Castro, Pedro), NRHP-listed • House at 659 La Paz Street, 659 La Paz St., Miramar, Puerto Rico (De Castro, Pedro), NRHP-listed • House at 663 La Paz Street, 663 La Paz St., Miramar, Puerto Rico (De Castro, Pedro A.), NRHP-listed • Jacinto Lopez Martinez Grammar School, Calle Norte and Calle San Quintin, Dorado, Puerto Rico (de Castro, Pedro Adolfo), NRHP-listed • Casa Villa Caparra, Carretera PR-19 intersección PR-2 No. 251, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (de Castro, Pedro Adolfo), NRHP-listed

De Castro Besosa died when his small airplane crashed on 18 October 1936. He was 41 years old.

The following is established of the heading itself.

The following is established of origins and background. Castro died in 1936 at San Juan. Born in 1895 at New York City.

The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Institutional cataloguing adds that pedro Adolfo de Castro is recorded with the occupation architect. The register further records that pedro Adolfo de Castro is recorded as a citizen of United States. The register further records that pedro Adolfo de Castro is recorded with the gender male. Born on 5 January 1895. Institutional cataloguing adds that pedro Adolfo de Castro died on 18 October 1936.