The borough was named after the San Cristobal chapel that stood in the area, demolished in the 50s. It housed a triptych, called San Cristobal, that can be found today in the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Sacrum Art Museum.
Up to the 19th century, few documents provided evidence of San Cristobal existence. This was due to the fact that most landlords paid no attention to coastal lands and built their estates backing the sea.
The first inhabitants of the quarter were the San Cristobal Castle’s garrison, who started fishing as means to thrive.
The true name of the castle is Torre San Pedro Martir (St. Peter Martyr Tower), and was built in 1578. It was one of the fortifications net protecting the island. Gran Canaria suffered from many pirate attacks, being the most famous the ones carried out by English corsair Drake, rejected in 1595, and the Dutch Van der Does, who raided the city (1599). Both attacks damaged the tower, being it rebuilt in 1638.
The tower was built on solid rock, getting isolated on a high tide. It is a listed Historic-Artistic Heritage monument, being one of its old guns exhibited at the Casa de Colon Museum in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
San Cristobal is today home to the last artisan carpenter specialized in wooden boat building in Gran Canaria.
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