One of the most iconic buildings on the Mexico City skyline is the triangular-shaped Torre Insignia. It is located along the northern stretch Insurgentes Avenue, a bit beyond the areas likely to be visited by tourists. I have passed it many times in Alejandro's car, but I have never had a chance to photograph it. I knew that it had been abandoned for many years, but it seemed to be occupied once again.
Last week I was wandering around the neighborhood of Santa María La Ribera, I realized that I could see the peak of the building above the rooftops of the houses. So, I walked over to Insurgentes, and I was able to get a good photograph of the skyscraper.
I did some research on the building and discovered that it has had a very interesting history. Construction began in 1958 and was completed in 1962. At the time the 25-story tower was the second highest in Mexico, surpassed only by the Latin American Tower downtown. (Today it ranks #36 among the city's tallest buildings.) The same engineering techniques that were used in the Latin American Tower were used in this structure, and it has survived numerous earthquakes since its construction. It is said that it is able to withstand an earthquake of 8.5 on the Richter Scale. (The disastrous 1985 quake was 8.0.) The building originally housed offices of Banobras, the government-owned National Works and Public Services Bank. It also housed the administrative center for the adjacent Tlatelolco housing project.
One of the most interesting aspects of the building is that at its top is an enormous carillon with 47 bells. The carillon was a gift from the government of Belgium on the 150th anniversary of Mexico's independence. A woman was hired to play the carillon on a regular basis. Even after the building was abandoned, she was allowed to go the top and play the bells once a week until the carillon broke in 1993.
In the 1985 quake, the Tlatelolco neighborhood was devastated with entire apartment buildings collapsing. Although Torre Insignia suffered no structural damage, the offices were closed. The building was abandoned and over the course of twenty years suffered deterioration. In 2007 it was sold to the U.S. real estate firm of Cushman & Wakefield. The building was renovated and now houses offices of the Secretariat of Health.
There is a Metrobus stop not far from the tower. Perhaps one of these days I will take a closer look at this distinctive landmark.
Nice to see the place in use again. Last time I went it was not in good shape. I walked around the base of the tower to get some photos. It was a bit of a dicey area, so I kept my camera away most of the time. I could have walked inside the place and explore. Doors were all open. But it looked even dicier inside. A few dodgy looking dudes hanging around in there. So I didn’t!
ReplyDeletehttps://www.flickr.com/photos/garydenness/albums/72157625047445011/
Good to hear from you, Gary.
DeleteI suspect that the area might still be rather dicey, although there is improvement in the vicinity. Santa María La Ribera is gentrifying somewhat, although it is far from becoming the next Condesa as some were predicting years ago. Immediately to the south of the Torre is the big Forum shopping mall located on the site of the old Buenavista train station. (I'm not sure if that mall would have been there when you were living in CDMX.) Next door to that is the fantastic Vasconcelos Library.
I think when the building was abandoned there were squatters living inside.