The World Trade Center Mexico City, commonly known by its former name, Hotel de México, is a building complex located in the wealthy neighborhood of

Colonia Nápoles Colonia Nápoles is a '' colonia'' in Benito Juárez, Mexico City in the North central area of the metropolis. Along with Colonia Del Valle, it's among the most representative of Mid-Century neighborhoods of Mexico City. Location It is border ...

in central

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

. Its most famous and recognizable feature is the 50-story, high Torre WTC, the biggest building in the local area. It is the third tallest building in Mexico City when including antenna, and at its roof height, it stands . The complex includes a convention center, cultural center, parking facilities, a multi-screen cinema, a revolving 45th-floor luxury restaurant and 44th floor observation gallery, and a shopping center with a supermarket and a

Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...

(originally opened as a

JCPenney Penney OpCo LLC , Trade name, doing business as JCPenney (colloquially Penney's and abbreviated JCP) is an American department store chain store, chain with 649 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. It is managed as part of the Catalys ...

, the first location outside of the USA) as an anchor tenant. It also includes a 22-floor hotel, and will share some amenities with the slightly taller 48-story Polyforum Tower, currently under construction. Located on

Avenida de los Insurgentes Avenida de los Insurgentes (), sometimes known simply as Insurgentes, is the longest avenue in Mexico City, with a length of on a north-south axis across the city. Insurgentes has its origins in what was during the early 20th century known as ...

, the complex is served by the Poliforum station of the Metrobús Bus rapid transit system, located a few meters away. The station is named after the

Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros The Polyforum Cultural Siqueiros is a cultural, political and social facility located in Mexico City as part of the World Trade Center Mexico City. It was designed and decorated by David Alfaro Siqueiros in the 1960s and hosts the largest mural w ...

, a part of the WTC complex.

History

The WTC México began its existence as the Hotel de México, a building and complex that did not perform as intended. Construction of the Hotel de México was in a lot called "Parque de La Lama" located in the

Nápoles The Nápoles family ( Portuguese for ''Naples'') is the name of a Portuguese noble family, whose roots lie in the Kingdom of Naples. History A claimed secondary branch of the royal Capetian House of Anjou, of the kings of Naples, the Nápoles ...

neighborhood (''Spanish: Colonia Nápoles''). The lot was set aside by real estate businessperson, José Jerónimo de La Lama in 1947. However, by 1966, when the project started, the owner and financial sponsor was

Manuel Suárez y Suárez Manuel Suárez y Suárez (23 March 1896 – 23 July 1987) was a Spanish immigrant to Mexico who became a successful entrepreneur and patron of the arts. He is known for the Casino de la Selva in Cuernavaca, the Hotel de México, and the adjacent Po ...

. The Hotel de México project included a hotel building as well as a cultural center housing the

and several other facilities aimed at making the complex a hub for business, culture, tourism, and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. Plans for the complex were presented at the 13th international architecture contest in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Projected to be ready for the 1968 Olympics, the project overran and exceeded its budget. Although the main tower was completed in 1972, it did not function as a hotel, due to political and economic reasons. The tower–as well as the rest of the complex–was left in an unfinished state, aside from the Polyforum. In the mid-1980s, a project was started to turn the Hotel de México complex into an international business center. Mr. Suárez backed the idea, and although he died in 1988, the remodeling began with partial public funding in 1992. In 1995, the complex–now known as World Trade Center México–opened its doors with the tower functioning as an office building and convention center. Floors 40 and 41 housed TV studios for Corporación de Noticias e Información, which operated XHTVM Canal 40. On May 19, 2005, these floors were evacuated after the beginning of a strike at CNI. Due to the legal cases that have followed CNI since 2005, the facilities have remained untouched since. The WTC also houses the transmission facilities for

XEW-FM XEW-AM (900 kHz) and XEW-FM (96.9 MHz) are commercial radio stations in Mexico City, Mexico, simulcasting a news/talk radio format branded as ''W Radio''. XEW serves as the flagship for other "W Radio" stations around Mexico that carry some or ...

XEQ-FM XEQ-FM is a radio station in Mexico City. Broadcasting on 92.9 FM, XEQ-FM broadcasts grupera music under the name "La Ke Buena" and is the flagship of a network of stations with the same branding and format. The original concession was awarded o ...

XEX-FM XEX-FM (101.7 FM) is a commercial radio station in Mexico City. Broadcasting from a tower atop the World Trade Center Mexico City, XEX-FM airs a contemporary hit radio format and is the flagship station of the Mexican Los 40 network. Most ...

and

XHFO-FM XHFO-FM (92.1 FM broadcasting, FM, "Radio Disney") is a radio station in Mexico City. The station is owned by Grupo Siete and carries the Radio Disney Latin America, Radio Disney pop format. The transmitter is located atop World Trade Center Mex ...

. Most recently, the World Trade Center added a second theater: the 7,500-seat Pepsi Center WTC, which was completed in 2012. It is used primarily for concerts and

stage show A theatrical production is any work of theatre, such as a staged play, musical, comedy or drama produced from a written book or script. Theatrical productions also extend to other performance designations such as Dramatic and Nondramatic theatre, ...

Functions

WTC Tower has a seismic detector that monitors land movements to stop elevators during earthquakes. The tower is managed by a system that controls the facilities and equipment. This includes the electrics, mechanical ventilation, sanitation, elevators and fire protection.

External links

CIEC WTC Official Website

Pepsi Center WTC Official Website

Nuevo Portal Torre WTC

References

{{Portal bar, Mexico, Architecture Skyscraper office buildings in Mexico City

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Benito Juárez, Mexico City Buildings and structures with revolving restaurants Office buildings completed in 1972 1970s in Mexico City 20th-century architecture in Mexico Convention centers in Mexico Music venues in Mexico Theatres in Mexico City

History

Functions

See also

External links

References