| 1891 Perron map San Jose, Costa Rica, #110 |
Nice small map titled Plateau et volcans du Costa-Rica, from wood engraving with fine detail and clear impression. Overall size approx. 16 x 15.5 cm, image size approx. 10.5 x 8.5 cm. From La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes, 19 vol. (1875-94), great work of Elisee Reclus. Cartographer is Charles Perron.
San José
capital and largest city of Costa Rica. Situated in a broad,
fertile valley 3,800 feet (1,160 metres) above sea level, it was called Villa
Nueva when it was settled in 1736. San José developed slowly as a tobacco centre
in the Spanish colonial era. In 1823 the national capital was transferred there
from nearby Cartago. In the 1840s the town became one of the important centres
of coffee production, which remained the chief source of Costa Rica's income
throughout the 19th century.
The political, social, and economic centre of Costa Rica, San José grew rapidly
in the 20th century, both in population and in area. Most neighbourhoods
surrounding the city's centre were developed in a grid pattern. After 1950 the
number of industrial establishments flourished. A transportation hub, San José
is an important point on the Inter-American Highway and is at the junction of
express highways to the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Air traffic at the
international airport, west of the city, increased following the end of the
Contra war in neighbouring Nicaragua in 1990 and continues to do so because of
the country's popularity among tourists.
The city is the site of the University of Costa Rica (1940), the oldest and most
diverse of San José's four public universities. Costa Rica's stability and
democratic reputation attract sizable numbers of foreign students to these
universities and to the numerous private universities scattered throughout San
José. Some of the city's historic buildings include a 19th-century cathedral and
the National Theatre, modeled after the Paris Opéra. Downtown San José has a
unique collection of plazas commemorating the country's progressive and
democratic traditions—notably the Democracy, Culture, and Social Guarantees
plazas. There is a small park named for U.S. Pres. John F. Kennedy,
memorializing his visit to the country in 1963. Several collections of
pre-Columbian goldwork and binational cultural centres are among the attractions
in the city. The National Museum, famed for its archaeological and historical
exhibits, is housed in a former army garrison. Pop. (2005 est.) 340,894.