Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (English: University of the Sacred Heart), abbreviated "USC" and often called simply Sagrado, is a private Catholic university in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico. It is one of the oldest and largest educational institutions in Puerto Rico with origins dating back to the 1880 establishment of an elementary school by the Society of the Sacred Heart. The university is situated in an area which was urbanized in the first decades of the twentieth century with great residences that belonged to the privileged families of the time and is rich in architectural styles. Renowned architect Antonín Nechodoma located his residence in Monteflores and some residences designed by him are still in the area. Including buildings with the unique French-style neoclassic architectural characteristics of the residence of Pablo Ubarri, Count of Santurce, which is now the center of the university's main campus. Such buildings abound along with Puerto Rican adaptations of Victorian architecture. There are also homes in the "tropical" U.S influenced Mission Revival, French-gothic, Spanish Colonial Revival, Prairie School, and several apartment structures of the "Art Deco" periods in Bouret street. History It was the year 1880 when three nuns of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus landed on the docks of San Juan, coming from Havana, Cuba. Their mission was to establish in Puerto Rico the educational and spiritual work that just 80 years before Mother Madeleine Sophie Barat had begun in France. At the beginning of the 20th century the institution acquired the Count of Santurce Estate and established the foundations of what makes-up today's campus. In 1935, the local government issued the Letter Foundation, whereby it established the College of the Sacred Heart. Four years later, in 1939, the institution granted its first academic degrees. The original founding purpose was as an educational center for women in Puerto Rico to achieve ample knowledge, not only for their personal enrichment, but for the benefit of the territory. In 1970, the religious order opted to transfer ownership and governance of the institution to the Board of Trustees (composed of some religious, but mostly lay members). This transition allowed for the notable expansion of academic offerings and student body. In February 1972, a change in the institution's original vision took place. The Board of Trustees approved the establishment of an entirely co-ed institution. In December 1976, the Board of Trustees authorized the use of the