Paseo de la Reforma
The Paseo de la Reforma is a street in Mexico City and the main artery of the metropolis in an east-west direction. On its route there are numerous roundels with monuments of famous personalities, who are often closely linked to the history of the country. There are also numerous banks and offices, embassies as well as upscale hotels and restaurants on the street and in the immediate vicinity. The road is about 15 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. The most significant part of the road is its middle section. Most of the banks and offices are located here, as is the Bolsa de Valores , the Mexico City Stock Exchange. With the skyscrapers Torre Reforma , Torre BBVA Bancomer and Torre Mayor , the second to fourth tallest buildings in Mexico are located on the Paseo de la Reforma.
history
The street was built at the instigation of Emperor Maximilian because he wanted a direct connection between the Chapultepec Castle, which he lived in, and his official residence on the Zócalo . Consequently, the street was initially called Calzada del Emperador (Emperor's Lane). After his disempowerment, it was renamed Paseo de los Hombres Ilustres (Promenade of Famous Men) in view of the statues located here , before it was finally given its current name in honor of the reform laws passed by President Benito Juárez in 1861 .
The course of the road
The road begins at Tlatelolco in the northeast of the city; where the Calzada Misterios and the Calzada de Guadalupe meet at the intersection with the Avenida Manuel Gonzales .
Right at the beginning of the street you will find the Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of the Three Cultures) on the right-hand side at a distance of almost 500 meters .
After around 800 meters you will find the first roundabout of the Reforma , as the street is usually called by the locals: the Glorieta Cuitláhuac . The memorial is dedicated to the penultimate Aztec ruler (June to October 1520), who died of smallpox introduced by the Spaniards.
Another 800 meters southwest of here is the first major traffic junction on the street: Plaza Garibaldi , the area around which has become the center of mariachi music in the Mexican capital. This is also where the Garibaldi metro station is located , the northern terminus of line 8.
In the next roundabout is the Glorieta Simón Bolívar with a memorial to the “Libertador”, probably the most important liberation fighter in South America, with the inscription: “Simon Bolivar - Libertador de Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama. Fundador de Bolivia. "
About 700 meters southwest of Bolivar monument dedicated crosses the Reforma , the Plaza Hidalgo , the most western end of Avenida Hidalgo is located and at the northwest corner of a green space, the largest part of the 1592 scale park Alameda Central occupies. The local metro station called Hidalgo is served by lines 2 and 3. To the right of Reforma , on the corner of Avenida Puente de Alvarado , rises the baroque church of San Hipólito . Just two blocks to the northwest is the church of San Fernando . In the cemetery belonging to it are the graves of some outstanding figures in Mexican history, such as Benito Juárez and Vicente Guerrero .
The next traffic junction is about 500 meters away. Here the Reforma crosses Avenida Juárez , which leads east past the south side of the Alameda Central with the Hemiciclo Juárez and south of the Palacio de Bellas Artes , the Palace of Fine Arts, on the corner of Avenida Lazaro Cardenas , into Avenida Francisco I. Madero passes, which leads straight to the Zócalo , the main square of the Mexican metropolis. In a westerly direction, Avenida Juárez leads to the Plaza de la República , in the geographical center of which is the Monumento a la Revolución . The huge structure in its present form was the result of the renovation of an unfinished parliament building, which began under the era of the former dictator Porfirio Díaz . After the victorious revolution, the structure was converted into a monument in honor of the revolution. The bones of Francisco Madero and Venustiano Carranza are located in two columns .
From the corner with Avenida Juárez down to the entrance of the Bosque de Chapultepec follows the commercially most important section of the street, which runs straight as a pin. In this region and the neighboring streets there are many banks, offices and embassies as well as hotels and restaurants of high standard. A large part of the left section of the street is taken up by the Zona Rosa . In this district, whose streets are named after European cities, there are many hotels, restaurants and boutiques.
On the first roundabout of this route is the monument to Christopher Columbus, created in 1877 by the French Charles Henri Joseph Cordier . On the next roundabout is a monument to Cuauhtémoc , the last Aztec ruler . The erection of the monument designed by the renowned Mexican sculptor Miguel Noreña dragged on over nine years (1878–1887). The monument is on the corner of Avenida de los Insurgentes (Allée of the insurgents). The 26 kilometer long road is the city's major north-south axis.
The most famous of all sculptures of the Reforma and a symbol of Mexico is the Independence Monument ( Monumento a la Independencia ), which is located next to the roundabout , also known as the Independence Column ( Columna de la Independencia ) and popularly known as El Ángel de la Independencia (Angel of Independence) or simply El Called Ángel . A 36-meter-high obelisk rises on a base, on the top of which there is an angel figure made of gilded bronze. The monument was designed by the Mexican architect Antonio Rivas Mercado and its design is reminiscent of the Berlin Victory Column . El Ángel holds in his right hand the laurel wreath for the Mexican victors of the War of Independence and in his left hand the broken chain of bondage under Spanish rule. The inauguration of the monument took place on September 16, 1910 as part of the celebrations for the country's centenary of independence.
The square around El Ángel is a popular meeting place for celebrations after victories of the Mexican national soccer team , especially during a World Cup . In 1915, the famous soccer club España , still the record champions of the country with 15 titles, moved into its first permanent home in the immediate vicinity .
The youngest sculpture in this section, which was also controversially discussed at the beginning, is the La Diana Cazadora (Diana, the huntress) placed next to the roundabout . The memorial was created in 1942 as part of a city beautification program. The architect Vicente Mendiola and the sculptor Juan Olaguíbel were chosen to create the local fountain and bronze sculpture. The 16-year-old Helvia Martínez Verdayes was chosen as the model for the creation of the Roman goddess of the hunt, who posed for it between April and September 1942. At first, parts of Mexican society thought the sculpture was offensive because it was completely undressed. So they gave her "panties". In the run-up to the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexican society, which is now freer in its views, found the disguised monument a bit strange and therefore the removal of the panties was arranged. In the process, however, the sculpture was damaged and finally dismantled. It was only set up again at its current location in August 1992.
Immediately before the entrance to the Bosque de Chapultepec , which is on the left side of the Reforma , the road makes a right curve of about 45 degrees. From there it runs straight as a bolt for a distance of almost four kilometers before continuing behind a motorway, for which it also serves as a feeder.
Just before this right curve is the Torre Mayor , which is the tallest building in Latin America at 225 meters and 55 floors . The building with house number 505 was completed in 2003 and is supposed to withstand an earthquake with a strength of up to 8.5 on the Richter scale.
On the continuation of the road after the already mentioned right bend, it takes its way to the motorway through the Bosque de Chapultepec. On the right-hand side, about 500 meters from the Reforma - reachable via the branching off Calzada Gral Mariano Escobedo - the area of the sports and social club Deportivo Chapultepec is located . This used to be the home of the Reforma Athletic Club . The sports club, which was founded by the English in 1894 and named after the Paseo de la Reforma, was the most successful soccer team in Mexico before the start of the First World War . To the left of the street (in roughly the same place) is the Museo de Arte Moderno , which opened in 1964 , the Museum of Modern Art.
Several hundred meters further on, on the right of the street, is the Museo Nacional de Antropología , the National Anthropological Museum, which displays an impressive collection of Mexican culture from the pre-Hispanic times. A little further to the left of the Reforma is the Chapultepec Zoo and about a kilometer behind the Auditorio Nacional . Both can be reached via the Auditorio metro station , which is halfway between them and is served by line 7. Behind the Auditorio Nacional is the military parade ground Campo Marte , from which the former military sports club Marte , founded in 1928, obviously got its name.
Photos of some monuments
The photos below show various monuments of famous people on the Reforma .
Monument to Simón Bolívar
Cuauhtémoc monument in front of the Holiday Inn hotel
Monument to Columbus
Monument to Ataturk , the founding father of the Republic of Turkey
Individual evidence
- ↑ This length information can be found in the Baedekers Allianz travel guide (1986) on page 108. The English wikipedia gives the length as only 12 kilometers and obviously only measures it up to the motorway access at Bosque de Chapultepec. Behind it, however, the road continues through the residential area Lomas de Chapultepec ( Chapultepec Hill ).
