[8] The idea of conserving the documented patrimony of the city in a systematic fashion took shape during the administration of Mayor Grillasca in the 1940s but the Archive itself existed long before that.

In 1973, Mayor Luis A. Morales revived the project almost immediately after he took office, consulting with the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña regarding its future.

Agreeing that the facilities available at City Hall were not adequate to hold such a growing collection, on 19 June 1975[9] Mayor Morales moved the Archivo to a space next to Teatro La Perla that had just been vacated by the municipal library.

[19] Archivo Histórico receives over 18,000 visitors every year, including historians, university professors, legislators, and researchers from Puerto Rico and abroad.

[21][22] It subsequently moved to Calle Marina across from Plaza Las Delicias[23] in the facility that for many years held the Felipe Garcia department store.

On August of 2023, it was moved to the street Regimiento 65 de Infantería, just across the Ponce Servicios building as a result of the 2020 Earthquakes in southern Puerto Rico.