Ateneo_Puertorriqueño

The Ateneo Puertorriqueño (Puerto Rican Athenaeum) is a cultural institution in Puerto Rico. Founded on April 30, 1876, it has been called Puerto Rico's oldest cultural institution, however, it is actually its third oldest overall and second culturally, after the Bar Association of Puerto Rico and the Casino of Mayagüez.One of its founders was the playwright, Alejandro Tapia y Rivera. The Athenaeum was the first to give accolades and awards to artists and writers such as José Gautier Benítez, José de Diego, Manuel María Sama, Francisco Oller, Manuel Fernández Juncos, Lola Rodríguez de Tió and Luis Lloréns Torres.The Athenaeum serves as a museum, school, library, and performance hall for the arts in Puerto Rico. It hosts a number of contests, conferences, and exhibits each year, presenting Puerto Rican art, literature, and music. Since 1937 the use of the spaces of the Athenaeum has been limited to activities it sponsors. Its headquarters are located in Puerta de Tierra, adjacent to Old San Juan, in a strip that also houses the "Casa de España", the Carnegie Library, the Capitol complex and the Puerto Rico Olympic Committee headquarters.