[1] Before the arrival of the Europeans to Puerto Rico, Puerta de Tierra (along with Old San Juan) formed part of a smaller islet which was populated by the Taíno.

Remains of a small indigenous fishing village have been found where the Puerto Rico National Guard Museum stands today, however most archaeological sites in the area have been destroyed and lost during the construction of the Muñoz Rivera Avenue and surrounding buildings.

[2] One of the first witch-hunts in the New World occurred in Puerta de Tierra in 1594 when bishop and inquisitor Don Nicolás Ramos accused a group of people of African descent of celebrating pagan rituals just outside of the settlement of San Juan.

[2] The area was further settled after the eastward expansion of the batteries of Fort San Cristóbal in 1771 and the construction of the Camino Real (today the Ponce de León Avenue) later in 1810.

The British invasion was thwarted by the local Spanish militia and regiments of Afro-Puerto Ricans after an unsuccessful siege of San Juan.

[3] Although the military installations in San Juan were modernized in 1865, the eastern portion of the walls were no longer deemed necessary due to the eastward expansion of the city and were consequently partially demolished.

Barriada Miranda was the first formally established public residential area in the zone in 1903 along the Camino Real, now called the Carretera Central.

Politician Luis Muñoz Rivera suggested in 1907 that the territorial capitol of Puerto Rico should be built in the largest of the empty parcels of land where the eastern city walls used to be, next to the Tapia Theater.

The portion of this road that passed through Puerta de Tierra was popularly known as the Broadway of Puerto Rico by the media due to the large number of theaters and cultural performing institutions being built at the time.

miles (1.55 km²), Puerta de Tierra is the largest and most populous subbarrio of San Juan Antiguo barrio.

According to Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia, Bibiana Hernández had worked for decades to have Puerta de Tierra added to the US National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) and was overjoyed at the news.

Many people such as artist and community spokesman, Jesús “Bubu” Negrón, have worked along with Arleen Pabón-Charneco, a Puerto Rican architect and author of the NRHP nomination forms, to bring more visibility to the area.