Dot Dash Dot Dash

As I mentioned in my previous post, last week I paid another visit to the National Museum of Art in Mexico City.  The museum is housed in an ornate building from the early 20th century that used to be the Secretariat of Communications and Public Works.  Within that building is another museum, the Telegraph Museum, located in what was once the Telegram Hall.  I  knew about this museum, but I had never visited it.  When I noticed that there was an entrance going directly from the Museum of Art into the Telegraph Museum, I figured that I might as well take a look.  Admission is free.

The small museum contains showcases with antique telegraphic equipment.

There are displays on the history of the telegraph in Mexico, including some historic telegrams from the era of the Mexican Revolution.

There is also a recreation of a telegraph office from the early 20th century.

But the best part of the museum is above you.  Look up and see the ornate ceiling paintings that stretch across the expanse of the hall.

At first glance they look like the Baroque, mythological paintings that you might find in a 17th century European palace.  But look closely and you see the telegraph towers, poles and wires.  These paintings are in praise of the new invention that had revolutionized communication.