Alameda Central
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Alameda Central is a public
urban park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
in downtown
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
. Created in 1592, the Alameda Central is the oldest public park in the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...
. It is located in
Cuauhtémoc borough Cuauhtémoc (, ), also known as Cuauhtemotzín, Guatimozín, or Guatémoc, was the Aztec ruler (''tlatoani'') of Tenochtitlan from 1520 to 1521, making him the last Aztec Emperor. The name Cuauhtemōc means "one who has descended like an eagle" ...
, adjacent to the
Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...
, between Juárez Avenue and Hidalgo Avenue. Alameda Central can be accessed by
Metro Bellas Artes Bellas Artes is a metro station, station along Mexico City Metro Line 2, Line 2 and Mexico City metro lines#Line 8: Garibaldi / Lagunilla – Constitución de 1917, Line 8 of the Mexico City Metro system. It is located in the Historic center of ...
.


Description

The Alameda Central park is a green garden with paved paths and decorative
fountain A fountain, from the Latin "fons" (genitive "fontis"), meaning source or Spring (hydrology), spring, is a decorative reservoir used for discharging water. It is also a structure that jets water into the air for a decorative or dramatic effect. ...
s and statues, and is frequently the center of civic events. The area used to be an Aztec marketplace. On 11 January 1592, Viceroy Luis de Velasco II ordered the creation of a public green space for the city's residents. The name comes from the Spanish word ''álamo'', which means poplar tree, that were planted here. This park was part of the viceroy's plan to develop what was, at that time, the western edge of the city. It has become a symbol of a traditional Mexican park and many other parks in the country take on the name "Alameda" as well.


Public art

Fountains and statues in the park include: * Beethoven Monument *
Benito Juárez Hemicycle The Benito Juárez Hemicycle is a Neoclassical monument located at the Alameda Central park in Mexico City, Mexico and commemorating the Mexican statesman Benito Juárez. The statue of Juárez is flanked by marble Doric columns. There are two all ...
* '' Désespoire'' *
Fountain of Mercury The Fountain of Mercury is installed in Mexico City's Alameda Central, in Mexico. The fountain's statue depicts Mercury (sometimes referred to as Hermes). See also * Mercury fountain A mercury fountain is a fountain constructed for use with li ...
* Fountain of Neptune * Fountain of Venus * Fountain of Virgin (central fountain) * ''
Gladiador frigio ''Gladiador frigio'' (English: ''Phrygian Gladiator'') is a sculpture by José María Labastida. The Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City has a marble version, and a bronze copy is installed in Alameda Central Alameda Central is a public urb ...
'' * ''
Gladiador romano ''Gladiador romano'' (English: ''Roman Gladiator'') is a sculpture by José María Labastida. The Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City has a marble version,http://munal.emuseum.com/objects/774/gladiador-romano ''Museo Nacional de Arte.'' and a b ...
'' * '' La Primavera'' * ''
Las Danaides ''Las Danaides'' is a fountain and sculpture in Mexico City's Alameda Central Alameda Central is a public urban park in downtown Mexico City. Created in 1592, the Alameda Central is the oldest public park in the Americas. It is located in Cu ...
'' * ''
Malgré Tout ''Malgré Tout'' is an 1898 sculpture by Jesús Fructuoso Contreras, depicting a nude woman lying down struggling against chains to rise. There are copies in the Museo Nacional de Arte and the Alameda Central, in Mexico City Mexico City ( es ...
'' * Statue of Alexander von Humboldt


History

The original park was less than half the size of the current one, reaching only from where the Palacio de Bellas Artes is now to the location of the Hemiciclo de Juárez. What is now the western section of the park originally was a plain plaza built during the Inquisition in Mexico and known as El Quemadero or The Burning Place. Here witches and others convicted by the Inquisitors were publicly burned at the stake. By the 1760s, the Inquisition had nearly come to an end, and in 1770, viceroy Marqués de Croix had this plaza torn up to expand the park. The park was expanded again in 1791, when the Count of Revillagigedo built a wooden fence around the park to make it exclusive for the nobility. However, when Mexican Independence was won in 1821, the Alameda was the center of popular celebrations. In 1846, when President Santa Anna rode triumphantly into Mexico City, he ordered the fountains in the park be filled with alcohol. The five classical fountains are of French design and inspired by Greco-Roman mythology. More statues were added to the park in the 19th century. Gas lamps were installed in 1868, which were replaced by electrical lighting 1892. By the end of the 19th century, the park had become popular with all social classes in Mexico. Much of the current layout of the park, with its starburst pattern of paths around fountains and the central kiosk dates from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By the late 19th century, the park included a
bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an orname ...
and gas (now electric) lamps. On the south side of the park, facing toward the street is the ''Hemiciclo a Juárez'', which is a large white semi-circular monument to
Benito Juárez Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Liberalism in Mexico, Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec peoples, Zapo ...
, one of Mexico's most beloved presidents. The park's statues include '' Désespoire'' and ''
Malgré Tout ''Malgré Tout'' is an 1898 sculpture by Jesús Fructuoso Contreras, depicting a nude woman lying down struggling against chains to rise. There are copies in the Museo Nacional de Arte and the Alameda Central, in Mexico City Mexico City ( es ...
'', by
Jesús Fructuoso Contreras Jesús Fructuoso Contreras Chávez (January 20, 1866 – July 13, 1902) was a Mexican sculptor. He has been called the most "representative sculptor of late 19th century Mexico". Biography Jesús Fructuoso Contreras was born in Aguascaliente ...
, and a monument donated by the German community which is dedicated to Beethoven in commemoration of the centenary of his 9th Symphony. In 2012, the park went through a rehabilitation which began in May and was completed in December. The renewal included replacing the damaged pavement with marble, the improvement of the vegetation (including the planting of new trees), new light posts, and improvement of existing park features (e.g. benches and the fountains). As part of the rehabilitation, the once ubiquitous
street vendors A hawker is a vendor of merchandise that can be easily transported; the term is roughly synonymous with costermonger or peddler. In most places where the term is used, a hawker sells inexpensive goods, handicrafts, or food items. Whether stationa ...
are no longer allowed to operate within the park. File:Large screen of the Palace of the Viceroys of Mexico, ca. 1676-1700, Mexico City, Museum of the Americas, anonimous painter.jpg, ''Views of the Alameda'' (today called Alameda Central) ''and the Palace of the Viceroys of Mexico'', anonymous painter, Mexico City, ca. 1676. Museum of the Americas, Madrid. File:La Alameda de México Mexico City 18th century Museo de América.jpg, ''La Alameda de México'', anonymous painter, 18th century, Mexico City. Museum of the Americas, Madrid. File:Stroke of the Alameda Central by Eduardo Mogg.18th century.jpg, Plan of the Alameda, ca. 18th century File:Alameda Mexico City 1848.jpg, The Alameda Central in 1848 by
Nathaniel Currier Nathaniel Currier (March 27, 1813 – November 20, 1888) was an American lithographer. He headed the company Currier & Ives with James Ives. Early years Currier was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel and Hannah Currier. He attended ...
.
Museo Amparo The Museo Amparo, located in the historic center of Puebla City, is one of the most important historical museums in Mexico. It was inaugurated in 1991 and sponsored by the Amparo Foundation, which was founded in 1979 by Manuel Espinoza Yglesias in ...
,
Puebla City Puebla de Zaragoza (; nah, Cuetlaxcoapan), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known in English simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city ...
. File:The Alameda of Mexico, taken from a balloon.jpg, ''The Alameda of Mexico, taken from a balloon'',
Casimiro Castro Casimiro Castro (24 April 1826 Tepetlaoxtoc – 8 January 1889 Mexico City), was a Mexican painter and lithographer, and is regarded as having been a leading graphic and landscape artist in nineteenth century Mexico. Biography Casimiro, son of ...
, ca. 1869.
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
. Image:The Kid - Diego Rivera.jpg, Detail of
Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
's '' Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central'', 1947 File:Alameda Central 20th century. Mexico City.jpg, 1944 aerial photo of the Alameda Central


Gallery

File:Alameda Central.jpg, Aerial view and adjacent buildings Image:Mexico.DF.HemicicloJuarez.01.jpg,
Benito Juárez Hemicycle The Benito Juárez Hemicycle is a Neoclassical monument located at the Alameda Central park in Mexico City, Mexico and commemorating the Mexican statesman Benito Juárez. The statue of Juárez is flanked by marble Doric columns. There are two all ...
, 1910 Image:Monumento a Beethoven en la Alameda Central 1.JPG, Beethoven Monument, 1921 Image:Alameda Central desde las alturas.jpg, View of the park before the 2012 rehabilitation. Note the many street vendors. Image:Estatua en Alameda Central..jpg, One of the various fountains within the park Image:Promenade in Alameda Central, Mexico City.jpg, One of the paths through the park Image:Mexico City (2018) - 486.jpg, ''
Gladiador frigio ''Gladiador frigio'' (English: ''Phrygian Gladiator'') is a sculpture by José María Labastida. The Museo Nacional de Arte in Mexico City has a marble version, and a bronze copy is installed in Alameda Central Alameda Central is a public urb ...
'' by José María Labastida (bronze copy)


See also

*
List of oldest buildings in the Americas This article lists the oldest known surviving buildings constructed in the Americas, including on each of the regions and within each country. "Building" is defined as any human-made structure used or interface for supporting or sheltering any use ...


References


External links

* {{Mexico City 1592 establishments in New Spain Colonial Mexico Gardens in Mexico History of Mexico City Parks in Mexico City