Fundidora Park facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fundidora Park
The Old Steel Mill at Fundidora Park
Type	Urban Park
Location	Monterrey, Mexico
Area	144 hectares (360 acres)
Created	2001
Operated by	Fideicomiso Fundidora
Visitors	over 8.5 million annually
Open	6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Fundidora Park (or Parque Fundidora in Spanish) is a super cool urban park in Monterrey, Mexico. It's built on the land where the old Monterrey Foundry used to be. This foundry was the very first place in Latin America to make steel and iron! For a long time, it was the most important one around. Today, it's a huge park where you can have fun, learn, and relax.

Park History and Location

Parque Fundidora with steel mill ruins.

A view of CINTERMEX.

Fundidora Park is located where the Fundidora Monterrey steel company once stood. This company was super important for Monterrey's growth in the 1900s. After the company closed in 1986, the government wanted to turn the land into a public park. The goal was to save its history and create a place for culture, business, fun, and learning about nature.

In 1988, the land became public property. The Fideicomiso Fundidora (Fundidora Trust) was created to manage the park. Building started in 1989. First, they saved important old buildings and structures from the foundry. Then, they built new places like the CINTERMEX convention center, a theme park, a hotel, and a movie theater. Work continued through the 1990s.

The park officially opened on February 24, 2001. It was first about 114 hectares (282 acres) big. It was also called the Museum of Industrial Archaeology Site because of its history. In 2010, the Paseo Santa Lucía was added. This is a 2.35 kilometer (1.46 mile) long artificial river with a walking path. This made the park even bigger!

Today, Fundidora Park is about 144 hectares (356 acres) in total. About 80 hectares (198 acres) of it are green spaces. It has two lakes, 23 fountains, 16 buildings, 27 large industrial structures, and 127 pieces of old steel-making machines. These items are important to the history of Nuevo Leon. There's also a 3.4 kilometer (2.1 mile) long track for running or walking around the park's original section.

Fun Places to Visit

Monterrey Arena

Arena Monterrey

The Monterrey Arena is a large indoor stadium in Monterrey. It's used for concerts, shows, and indoor sports like soccer or basketball. It used to be home to some local sports teams. The arena is huge, about 45,000 square meters (480,000 square feet) in size!

Parque Fiesta Aventuras

The park's entrance when it was Parque Plaza Sésamo.

Parque Fiesta Aventuras is a fun theme park inside Fundidora Park. It first opened in 1995. For many years, it was known as Parque Plaza Sésamo and featured characters from Sesame Street.

In May 2022, the park announced it would change its name to Parque Fiesta Aventuras. This happened after it was closed for two years. The park likely changed its name because it no longer had permission to use the Plaza Sésamo characters.

Auditorio Citibanamex

Auditorio Citibanamex is a large indoor concert hall. It can hold up to 8,200 people! It opened in 1994 and was the main place for concerts in Monterrey for a long time. It was known by different names over the years, like Auditorio Coca-Cola and Auditorio Banamex.

Cool Sights and Structures

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  The old industrial Tower

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  Horno 3 - The 3rd Blast Furnace

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  A green area in the park

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  Another view of a Green Field

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  An interesting park structure

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  Horno 3 before it was fixed up

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  A beautiful fountain

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  A large steel structure

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  The Expo Center at the Old Lewis Building, which hosted a big event in 2007.

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  Inside CINTERMEX.

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  View of the tower.

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  A view of Fundidora.

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  The Paseo Santa Lucía riverwalk.

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  View of Horno 3.

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  Entrance to the museum.

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  Fundidora Park.

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  Park chimneys and view of Cerro de la Silla mountain.

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  The auditorium and the park.

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  Fundidora Lake.

Exciting Events

Fundidora Park Circuit

The Fundidora Park Raceway layout.
Location	Fundidora Park, Monterrey, Mexico
Time zone	UTC-6
Opened	2001
Closed	2006
Major events	Champ Car World Series Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey (2001–2006) A1 Grand Prix (2006) Formula Atlantic (2002–2006) Barber Pro Series (2003) Indy Lights (2001)
Grand Prix Circuit (2001–2006)
Surface	Asphalt
Length	3.390 km (2.104 mi)
Turns	15
Race lap record	1:14.529 ( Sébastien Bourdais, Lola B03/00, 2006, Champ Car)

Fundidora Park has hosted many big events!

• From 2001 to 2006, the park had exciting Champ Car World Series races, known as the Tecate/Telmex Grand Prix of Monterrey.
• It has also been the location for important meetings like those for the UN and the OAS.
• In 2006, the park's race track hosted the A1 Grand Prix racing series.
• The park was the main spot for the 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures. For this event, an extra 30 hectares (74 acres) were added to the park. It was also connected to the city's Macroplaza (Great Plaza) by the Santa Lucia Riverwalk.
• Today, the park hosts popular music festivals every year, like the Pal Norte music fest and the Machaca Fest.