First Methodist Episcopal Church
In 1908 architect Antonin Nechodoma designed the First Methodist Episcopal Church at Miramar, Santurce. He had migrated from Prague to Chicago, and reached the island in 1905. Different religious denominations gained footholds in Puerto Rico after 1898, challenging the dominance of the Catholic Church.
Nechodoma's design displays neo-Gothic characteristics such as the towers at the entrance, the use of the pointed arch, the gargoyles, the stained glass windows, the texture of the stones, and the buttresses. The reinforced concrete structure was given a rustic finish that resembles stone. An iron fence encircles the garden and separates the building from its immediate surroundings.
The building has a nave with a hexagonal apse and an annex on one side. Each of these spaces has a portico entrance. Both the main nave and the annex have a wooden roof with two gables. The church's main facade is dominated by a square bell tower, which is divided into three horizontal bands: the entrances, the bell area, and the peak, which is crowned with gargoyles and battlements. The gargoyles are not only decorative elements, but also serve as water drainage for the roof. On the wall of the facade are a huge window and a stained glass rose window, as well as a Celtic cross that crowns the pinnacle of the end of the gable. The floor is finished in stone from the island.
Miramar has remained an attractive residential community, but streets and traffic have cornered the former Methodist church. Having changed to a Catholic affiliation, it now honors Our Lady of Lourdes. Its scale has been shrunken by the higher structures in the vicinity. The eight-story Hotel Miramar occupies the site of both the old hotel and the former 1930s Teatro Fox, operated by Twentieth Century Fox in San Juan and later demolished. Hotel Las Américas (formerly Columbus’s Hotel) sits beyond.
The original structure has not undergone major alterations. The structure has been listed on the United States Department of Interior's National Register of Historic Places since 1984.
The cache is a square lock & lock container. The original content is logbook and a pin for the FTF. BYOP
