Fire hits Viejo San Juan building at 203 Calle de la Cruz, no one hurt
Firefighters put out a fire on November 7, 2026 in a three-level building near Plaza de Armas in Viejo San Juan, Primera Hora reported. No one was hurt by the flames or the smoke, the outlet said.
What the outlets reported
The fire began around 11:00 a.m. in the building next to the SuperMax supermarket and Marshall's, and it was out by about 12:20 p.m., Primera Hora reported. Its cause was not yet known. Units of the fire service and of San Juan's municipal emergency management responded, along with the Hato Rey Special Operations Division.
The building has a business called The Poet's Passage on its first level and homes on the two levels above it, a spokesperson for the fire service told the outlet.
Preliminary information placed the start of the fire in the storage area of the ground-floor business, El Nuevo Día reported, and the authorities evacuated the building. Crews then worked on ventilation and cooling, El Vocero reported, and the bureau reported no injuries.
The building at 203 Calle de la Cruz
The gallery and shop occupies the ground floor of Condominio Cruz at 203 Calle de la Cruz, next door to the supermarket at 201 Calle de la Cruz. The property stands on a lot of 412.5 square meters inside the San Juan Historic Zone, and the property tax roll divides it into three units.
One of its units sold for $675,000 in a deed dated December 30, 2005, the most recent priced sale of the property. No unit in the building is advertised for sale or for rent.
Permit filings trace how the ground floor has been used. Older, undated filings cover a coffee shop and a store selling books, music and coffee. A business registration for a cafeteria serving alcoholic drinks was filed on March 11, 2016 and is recorded as approved, and fire prevention certificates at the address were filed on March 17, 2016, July 7, 2016 and February 23, 2018, each recorded as approved.
The current business filed a unified permit application for an art and poetry gallery with a gift shop on January 21, 2025; that filing was archived. A historic-conservation recommendation for the same use, filed on June 5, 2025, is recorded as approved.
