In the Historic Center

You may remember that on my previous trip I discovered a website in Spanish which describes 200 places in Mexico City's "Centro Histórico".  Many of these are places you would pass by without ever knowing their fascinating history.  Once again, I picked out a few of the places on this list which I thought you might find interesting, and took photos of them.

Our first stop is a relatively recent building.  "La Nacional" was built by the life insurance company of the same name.  Construction began in 1928 and was completed in 1932.  The thirteen story structure was the first skyscraper in Mexico City and for five years held the distinction of being the city's tallest building.  It stands across the street from the Palace of Fine Arts on the corner of Lázaro Cárdenas and Juárez Avenues.

It was the first tall structure in a seismically active area.  It was built upon more than 100 concrete piles that go down to bedrock at a depth of 180 feet.  It has survived ten earthquakes, including the 1985 quake which devastated much of Juárez Avenue, without any structural damage.

The building is considered one of the city's most important examples of art deco architecture.

    Today most of the building is occupied by offices of the National Institute of Fine Arts.

In 1947 an annex, which is sometimes referred to as "La Nacional II", was built next to the original.  It today houses the downtown branch of Sears.  ("Sears de México" is very much alive and well, is 100% Mexican owned, and it considered an upscale store.)

Heading down Madero Street, you might not notice this carving of a feline head on one of the street corners.

The sculpture marks the level of the flood waters in the disastrous inundation of 1629.  Because the valley in which the city sits was largely covered with a system of lakes, floods were a frequent problem.  However, in September of 1629 heavy rains fell for 40 hours, and the city was submerged by the lakes.  It was five years before the water receded entirely.  Between the flood itself, and subsequent disease from the water polluted with human waste, around 30,000 people may have died.  Thousands fled the city.  The flood spurred efforts to drain off the lakes.  That prevented floods and provided more land for the city to grow, but it also destroyed the ecosystem which existed here.

On Isabel la Católica Street stands the oldest palace still standing in Mexico City.

In 1690 Alonso Dávolos Bracamonte received from the Spanish crown the title of the Count of Miravalle.  He bought this property and built a sumptuous palace.  After independence the building became the Mexican Atheneum, a literary institution.  In 2012 it was converted into a boutique hotel and restaurant.

A short walk away on the corner of Palma Street and 16 de Septiembre is this building which was once the Hotel de la Bella Unión, which was the oldest hotel in the city.

In 1847, at the end of the Mexican-American War, when the U.S. army occupied the city, the former hotel was used as a barracks, bar and brothel (!) by the occupying troops.

Across the street was a building which is also on the list, a former department store called "El Correo Francés".  

In 1929, Paul Dubois, a French architect who has designed a number of buildings in Mexico City, was commissioned to design a new building for the department store.  When it was completed it was considered one of the most elegant buildings in the city.

It features mosaic decorations of Venetian glass and an extravagant marquee at the entrance.

The department store no longer exists, but the building has been lovingly restored.  The upper floors house business offices, and the ground floor is a Nike store.

Finally, this house on Tacuba Street is associated with the sad story of the widow of the last Viceroy of New Spain.

During the colonial period, Mexico, then known as New Spain, was governed by a Viceroy appointed by the King of Spain.  Juan O'Donojú, a distinguished Spanish military officer of Irish descent, was named as Viceroy in 1821, in the last year of the long war for Mexican independence.  When O'Donojú arrived in Mexico, most of the country was under the control of the rebels under the leadership of Agustín Iturbide.  O'Donojú saw that independence was inevitable, and met with Iturbide to work out the terms of a treaty recognizing the independence of the new nation.

The Spanish king was incensed that O'Donojú had capitulated and declared him a traitor to Spain.  A short time later the last viceroy died under mysterious circumstances, leaving his widow María Josefa in financial straits.  Iturbide, who proclaimed himself Emperor of Mexico, promised her a pension, but after he was deposed, his promises were forgotten.  The widow took up residence in this house.  She sold her furniture, her clothing and her jewels to survive.  Finally in 1842, unable to pay the rent, she died a homeless beggar on the street.