Everything about Paseo De La Reforma totally explained
Paseo de la Reforma (
English: "Reform's Walk") is a 12 kilometer long grand avenue in
Mexico City,
Mexico. The name commemorates the liberal reforms of 19th century
president Benito Juárez.
Description
This wide avenue runs in a straight line, cutting diagonally across the city. It was built on the orders of
Emperor Maximilian I in the 1860s and was originally called "The Empress's Avenue", in honor of his consort
Empress Carlota of Mexico. Modeled after the great
boulevards of
Europe, such as the
Champs-Élysées in
Paris, it was designed to directly link
Chapultepec Castle with the
National Palace in the city center. It runs from
Chapultepec Park, passes alongside the
Torre Mayor (currently
Latin America's tallest building), and continues through the
Zona Rosa and then to the
Zócalo by Juárez Avenue and Francisco I. Madero Street.
More modern extensions continue the avenue at an angle to the old Paseo. To the northeast it continues towards
Tlatelolco then it's divided into Calzada de Guadalupe and Calzada de los Misterios and reaches
La Villa. To the west, it crosses
Chapultepec park and passes south of
Polanco on its way through the exclusive neighborhood of
Las Lomas and then into
Cuajimalpa and
Santa Fe on the outskirts of the city, although when it reaches this point it's more a highway than a promenade.
Monuments
Many monuments to people and events in
Mexico's history and the history of the
Americas are situated on and along Reforma. Honored people include the
Niños Héroes – the Heroic Cadets of the
Battle of Chapultepec – with a particularly grand monument in the entrance of Chapultepec Park,
Cuauhtémoc,
Simón Bolívar,
José de San Martín and
Christopher Columbus. There is also a fountain with sculptures that conmemorate the nationalization of Mexico's
oil reserves and industry in 1938, and a fountain that includes a statue featuring the
Roman goddess
Diana originally named
The Arrow Thrower of the North Star.
One of the most famous monuments of the Paseo is
El Ángel de la Independencia – a tall column with a gilded statue of a
Winged Victory (that bears resemblance with an angel, therefore it's common name) on its top and many marble statues on its base depicting the heroes of the
Mexican War of Independence, built to commemorate the centennial of Mexico's independence in 1910. The base contains the tombs of several key figures in Mexico's
war of independence.
Near the central section of Reforma, across from the Alameda, is the
Monument to the Revolution. This is an enormous dome supported by four arches. It was originally planned, by
Porfirio Díaz, to be a part of a new parliament building, but it never was completed because of the start of the
Mexican Revolution.
After Díaz's overthrow it became a monument to the revolution that deposed him. The remains of
Francisco I. Madero and several other heroes of the
Mexican Revolution are buried here.
Architecture
During
President Díaz' regime, Paseo de la Reforma became very popular among elite families as a residential area. Few of these original houses built in different European architectural styles remain and office blocks have been built on their place over the years. Although there's no single block that has kept its former architecture, a couple of scattered buildings show the opulence enjoyed by the elites during Porfirio Díaz' regime.
Although most of the modern buildings are unremarkable, the
Art Deco Loteria Nacional building and the
functionalist IMSS building are an exception. Today Paseo de la Reforma houses offices ranging from the Mexican Federal Government to Banks and brokerage houses.
The newer buildings show a mix of contemporary styles and the commonly used style for office buildings.
Other place of interest
Reforma is home to the embassies of the
United States (Reforma 305),
Colombia (379),
Japan (395), the
European Union (1675), and
Peru (2601). The Mexican stock exchange building (
Bolsa Mexicana de Valores) and the former trading floor are on Reforma, as are several museums which are part of
Chapultepec Park, including the
National Museum of Anthropology, the
Modern Art Museum, and the
Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum. Another important highlight is the
Chapultepec Zoo which is home to more than 2000 animals from more 200 different species.
Today
Today, the Reforma is filled with touristic attractions and recreations, luxurious restaurants and hotels, office buildings, public art exhibitions, and new construction developments.
Reforma has become a traditional place for the Mexicans to celebrate or protest. Most protest rallies commonly go along Reforma from
El Ángel to the
Zócalo or from the
Zócalo to
Los Pinos. Many parades also make their way through Reforma.
El Ángel roundabout is a traditional place for the celebration of the victories of the
national football team, mostly during
World Cups.
Since 2003, Mexico City's government started a renewal program for Paseo de la Reforma. It included the maintenance of the existent gardens and the creation of new ones, the intensive cleaning and sweeping of streets and sidewalks, the construction of new pink quarry sidewalks and benches, the creation of access bays in the Zoo, lake and Modern Art Museum for touristic and school buses, the installation of new lighting, the moving of the monument to Cuauhtémoc to the crossing of
Insurgentes Avenue and Paseo de la Reforma, the construction of prism shaped concrete structures in the median which also have plants and flowers, the promotion of Reforma as a cultural walk organizing different expositions along the avenue sidewalks, and the maintenance of the monuments, sculptures and fountains. Also, a touristic route that goes from Chapultepec Park to the Historic Center along Reforma was stablished by a double deck bus called
Turibus.
With the renewal project, new life has come to the avenue. It has become a main attraction of the city and the most expensive one to build on. However, after many of Mexico City's banks and business left Paseo de la Reforma for the
Santa Fe business district in the last decade, the boulevard has been the center of a real state renaissance. Remarkable buildings built (or under construction) in recent years are
Torre Mayor,
Torre HSBC in the Ángel roundabout, Torre Libertad with
St. Regis Hotel (currently under construction) in the Diana fountain roundabout, and Reforma 222 (currently under construction) designed by famous Mexican architect
Teodoro González de León at Reforma and Havre St. Recently announced mix-used developments include a Ritz-Carlton Hotel & Residences and a Park Hyatt Hotel & Residences, scheduled to open bewtween 2009 and 2010.
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