Name: Normandie Hotel
Address: San Juan, United States

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO · 1942

Normandie Hotel

A Streamline Moderne hotel shaped by an ocean liner, opened in 1942 in the Isleta de San Juan. Its original roof sign once stood on the deck of the SS Normandie.

At a glance

The Normandie Hotel occupies a historic building in the Isleta de San Juan, a district of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It opened on October 10, 1942. The design drew directly from the French transatlantic passenger ship SS Normandie.

History

The hotel began operating in October 1942. Its name and silhouette honored the SS Normandie, the French ocean liner launched in the 1930s. The connection was physical as well as visual.

The building’s original roof sign was one of two signs that had adorned the top deck of the liner. Both signs were removed from the ship during an early refitting. One of them found its way to San Juan.

What you see

The property is an example of the style that became known as Streamline Moderne. Its lines echo the ship that inspired it.

The building shared the Art Deco vocabulary of the SS Normandie. The distinctive roof sign, removed from the ship before it reached San Juan, marked the hotel’s presence in the city.

Cultural significance

The hotel links San Juan to the great era of transatlantic liner design. A fragment of the SS Normandie’s original equipment survives in the building’s roof sign.

In 2021 the structure was vacant and not in operation. New private owners acquired it in 2022 and announced plans to renovate it. No renovation details are available in the source.

Key facts

Country: United States
City: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates: 18.464493, -66.087412
Opened: October 10, 1942

Practical information & getting there

The building is in the Isleta de San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico. As of 2021 it was vacant and not open to visitors. No current public access information is available.

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