Spanish Sites in NYC - In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Queen Sofia Spanish Institution has put together a tour of various Spanish Sites in NYC.

Queen Sofía Spanish Institute founded - 1954 - Formerly the Oliver D. Filley House, this mansion is now home to the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, an organization founded to promote Spanish language and culture.

Instituto Cervantes New York - 1991 - Its New York center serves as one of the city's principal contemporary institutions for Spanish cultural diplomacy. It offers Spanish-language instruction, exhibitions, lectures, performances, screenings, literary programs, and other cultural activities.The center also houses the Jorge Luis Borges Library, whose collection includes approximately 85,000 items relating to Spain and Latin America, including books, periodicals, films, music, and digital resources. 

Spanish Benevolent Society (La Nacional) - 1868 - La Nacional is the oldest Spanish cultural institution in the United States of America.

Apse from San Martín at Fuentidueña at The Met Cloisters - 1200 - The Fuentidueña Chapel at The Met Cloisters contains an authentic Romanesque apse from the church of San Martín in Fuentidueña, Segovia, Spain, dating to approximately 1175–1200. The apse is a major example of Castilian Romanesque architecture.

Patio del castillo de Vélez Blanco - 1515 - Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art stands an extraordinary architectural fragment from the Castle of Vélez Blanco in Almería, Spain.The marble courtyard was constructed between 1506 and 1515 for Pedro Fajardo, first Marquis of Los Vélez. Made from marble quarried at Macael in Almería, it combines Spanish architectural traditions, including its asymmetrical layout, Gothic gargoyles, and timbered ceiling, with Renaissance decoration executed by northern Italian stone carvers.The courtyard was removed from the castle in the early twentieth century and eventually came to the United States. It entered The Met's collection through the bequest of collector George Blumenthal in 1941 and was reconstructed inside the museum.

El Cid Campeador - 1927 - The monumental equestrian sculpture El Cid Campeador dominates the central terrace in front of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library.El Cid, Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, is a war hero of the Reconquista period of medieval Spanish history and literature. The sculpture presents him as an idealized mounted warrior and became an important visual symbol of the Hispanic Society.

Spanish Memorial Plaque at Fort Greene Park - 2021 - The Spanish Memorial Plaque in Fort Greene Park commemorates the Spanish soldiers who fought, suffered, and died in support of American independence during the Revolutionary War. The original bronze plaque was presented by King Juan Carlos of Spain and dedicated in 1976 as part of the nation’s bicentennial celebrations. It was later removed from its granite plinth because of its deteriorated condition and is now displayed in the park’s visitor center.A replacement bronze plaque, funded by the Spanish electrical company Iberdrola, was created to preserve the memorial’s message while better integrating with the historic landscape. Set into a natural stone boulder on the eastern side of the Prison Ship Martyrs’ Monument plaza, the new memorial was unveiled during Hispanic Heritage Month with support from NYC Parks, the Queen Sofía Spanish Institute, Iberdrola and Avangrid, and Spanish diplomatic representatives. The memorial highlights the longstanding historical ties between Spain and the United States and recognizes Spain’s contribution to the American struggle for independence.

Admiral David Glasgow Farragut - 1880 - This monument to the Civil War admiral David Glasgow Farragut, who was hailed as a much-needed hero in the Union after seizing New Orleans in 1862 and who was famously quoted as saying, “Damn the Torpedoes!” at the Battle of Mobile Bay two years later, sits inside Madison Square, right about in the middle of the park’s north end. The statue was originally at the park’s northwest corner, facing Fifth Avenue. It was moved a few feet when Fifth Avenue was widened in 1909, and after the park was redesigned in 1934, the monument was moved to its present spot.