Another Renovated Station

I have written several posts about recent renovations to Mexico City's subway stations.  It wasn't until last week that I had a chance to see what changes had been made to the Metro's "Zócalo" station.  Located under the Zócalo, the city's main plaza, it is a very busy stop for residents and tourists alike.  In 2021, the 500th anniversary of the fall of the Aztec capital, the name of the station was changed to "Zócalo - Tenochtitlan".  (Tenochtitlan was the name of the Aztec capital, and its grand ceremonial center was located where the Zócalo is today.)

As in some of the other stations along this line, they have installed walls of living plants along the platforms.  I wrote in another post that in some of the stations, these plants were dying because they did not have sunlight.  Some genius must have figured this out, because I noticed that there are very bright lights (which I assume are "grow-lights") aimed at the plants.

Along the platforms there are mosaic paintings.

The volcanoes "Izta" and "Popo"

The equestrian statue of King Charles IV of Spain

The headdress of the Aztec emperor

Replicas of Aztec carvings have been placed in various locations.

For as long as I remember, there have been models which show what the Zócalo looked like at different times in history.  These models appeared to have been cleaned, and better lighting has been installed.

The Zócalo at the end of colonial period

The center of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan as it appeared on the eve of the Spanish Conquest in 1521.

One addition that I appreciated was a public restroom.  The ten peso charge to use the restroom is higher than most.  (In most places it is 5 or 7 pesos.)   However, except for an overflowing trash bin, the restroom was very clean, bright and well-equipped.