Faro del Comercio is a monument designed by the accomplished

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Luis Barragán and constructed in 1984 by architect

Raúl Ferrera Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul. Raul, Raúl or Raül may re ...

. It is a recognizable sight in Monterrey among many other modern manmade landmarks, such as Neptune's Fountain ( Fuente de la Vida), the Monterrey City Hall, the Papal Bridge ( El Puente del Papa), and the Bridge of Unity ( Puente de la Unidad) in San Pedro, connecting that municipality to Monterrey. These sites are intended on one hand to complement the city's few remaining traditional landmarks, such as, the Bishopric Palace ( Palacio del Obispado) and Museum, the City's Cathedral ( Catedral Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey), the Central Post Office (old Monterrey City Hall), and the State of Nuevo León Government building, on the north end of the Macroplaza. On the other hand, they are also intended to project an image of a city that prides itself as being the most progressive large industrial city of Mexico. Monterrey-Catedral

El Faro del Comercio was built in commemoration of the founding of the Chamber of Commerce of

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

's on its 100-year anniversary. It is located near the south end of the Macroplaza facing the City's Cathedral and behind the new Monterrey City Hall. El Faro del Comercio is 69.80 meters tall and 12.33 meters wide. Its bright reddish-orange color attracts attention when visiting the Macroplaza, Monterrey's central park. At nights, the landmark frequently projects a rotating green spotlight which interrupts the city's night sky with its beam in a somewhat random cycle in the Metropolitan Area of

. Recently (2007), many large reflecting white spotlights from the nearby Museum of Mexican History

Museo de Historia Mexicana Museo may refer to: * Museo, 2018 Mexican drama heist film *Museo (Naples Metro) Museo is a station on line 1 of the Naples Metro. It was opened on 5 April 2001 as the eastern terminus of the section of the line between Vanvitelli and Museo. O ...

and Santa Lucia Riverwalk, and around the

Bishopric Hill In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

where in 2005 the largest Mexican flag was installed ( Banderas monumentales) and flown at night, as well as from high-power reflectors of many commercial establishments, clash randomly in the sky, visible from most locations in Monterrey and the surrounding areas. After failing or being "out of commission" for several years due to an impractical technical laser mechanism which intended to have three colored lasers and a much greater visual impact on the dark skies of the surrounding areas, some of the original mechanism was salvaged and partially replaced and redesigned to have some operational ability with the green color. The redesign has some success since green is the color for which the eye is most sensitive and allows the perception of more light for the power limitations. However, the new design falls far short of the original claims for the construction. The structure was repainted after the laser renovation and reinaugurated at the 196th

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Anniversary celebration on September 16, 2006.

External links

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{{coord, 25, 39, 58.30, N, 100, 18, 36.10, W, display=title 2006 in Mexico Buildings and structures in Monterrey Landmarks in Monterrey Towers in Mexico Cultural infrastructure completed in 1984 Monuments and memorials in Mexico Tourist attractions in Monterrey Towers completed in 1984