We explored the historical center during our week in Mexico City. To learn more we spent a morning with Julia, who guided us and 8 other tourists on a walk through the more noteworthy parts of the capital. 

El Zócalo – The city’s main public square, officially name Plaza de la Constitucion, was once a place for Aztec ceremonies before the Spanish arrived. With the national cathedral and national palace standing on two sides, the square is now a main gathering place for government and religious celebrations, as well as political speeches or events. We did not see any gatherings during our time with Julia, but later in the week we walked by a group that had pitched tents and held signs on the south side of the square.

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Palacio Nacional – Made from red stones and extending 200 meters in length, this government building houses the president’s office, national archives, and federal treasury. We were not allowed inside, but Julia pointed out the balcony from which the president gives the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) each September 15th in honour of Mexican independence.

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Catedral Metropolitana – The impressive cathedral, covering 6,732 square metres and the 28th-largest religious building in the world, features a medley of architectural styles including Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical because it was under construction for almost 250 years – 1573 to 1813. While admiring the beautiful interior naves, chapels and famous paintings we noticed the sloping or sinking floor on the east side. Julia explained that the historical center of Mexico City was built on a lake island that included the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. When the Spanish conquered the area in 1521 they drained the lake and, unbeknownst to the new inhabitants, the land became soft and unstable. 

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Later in the tour our guide pointed out how builders “filled in a space” between two contemporary buildings, at least one of which was leaning because of ongoing settling.

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Templo Mayor – The Spanish colonists destroyed the main Aztec temple, Tempo Mayor, and built the national cathedral and other structures on top of the ruins. After electrical workers discovered an 8-ton, round stone carving of an Aztec goddess in 1978, archeologists began excavating the area and it remains an active archeological site, with over 7,000 recovered artifacts. 

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El Caballito – We stopped to admire the prominent bronze statue featuring King Charles IV of Spain, the last ruler of New Spain, which was later renamed Mexico. Created by Manual Tolsa in the early 1800s, the 26-ton sculpture resided in several locations throughout the city as anti-Spain sentiment increased following Mexican independence. In 1821 a blue tent covered the artwork and some citizens promoted the plan to melt the statue in order to make guns or coins. Over time negative feelings towards Spain subsided and the preserved statue was moved two times before placement at its current location in 1979. A plaque at the base of the statue explains that El Caballito was saved as a monument to art, not as a sign of praise to a Spanish king.

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Palacio de Correro – The city’s central post office is definitely the fanciest mail facility we have seen! It has been officially called the Postal Palace since its construction in 1907. The 1985 Mexico City earthquake significantly damaged the Italian-designed building, so the impressive details we admired (exterior baroque columns, carved filigree around the windows, beautiful interior staircase with bronze railings and glass dome ceiling) were the work of restoration artisans. During our brief visit we saw one open customer service window where patrons could buy stamps or mail packages at the ornate, still-functioning post office. 

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Palacio de Bellas Artes – Julia talked to our tour group about the Palace of Fine Arts, but we did not go inside that morning. Construction of the building began in 1904 and didn’t conclude until 30 years later, partially because the large, ornate marble building sank somewhat into the soft soil and the Mexican Revolution disrupted the progress. 

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Fortunately we were able to see some of the interior decor and gigantic murals by famous Mexican artists several days later, just hours before city-wide museum closures took effect due to the pandemic. Since we did not attend a symphony or opera performance at the impressive theater we did not get to admire the stained-glass curtain displaying Gerardo Murillo’s painting of the Valley of Mexico. Hopefully during a future visit to Mexico City we will see the million or so pieces of colored glass assembled by New York jeweler Tiffany & Co. 

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Casa de los Azulejos – Our walking tour concluded at this unique 18th century house of blue, white, and yellow tiles. Two probable stories exist about why the building was faced with tiles: 1) A widowed countess wanted to display her great wealth or 2) a young man wanted to convince his wealthy, critical father that the son had given up a party lifestyle and prove his father wrong about never being successful. Eventually the aristocratic home became the flagship Sanborn restaurant, a popular chain of eateries in Mexico. 

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