Palacio de Correos de México facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Palacio de Correos |
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View of the Palacio de Correos in Mexico City from the NW
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Plateresque Revival |
| Location | center of Mexico City, on the Eje Central (Lazaro Cardenas) near the Palacio de Bellas Artes |
| Coordinates | 19°26′08″N 99°08′25″W / 19.435686°N 99.1404°W |
| Construction started | 1902 |
| Completed | 1907 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Adamo Boari |
The Palacio de Correos de México (Postal Palace of Mexico City) is also called the "Correo Mayor" (Main Post Office). It is a beautiful and historic building in the center of Mexico City. You can find it near the famous Palacio de Bellas Artes.
This grand building was finished in 1907. It was built when the Post Office became its own government department. Its design was very modern for its time. It mixes many different styles, especially one called Neo-Plateresque. In the 1950s, some changes were made that caused damage. The 1985 earthquake then hurt the building even more. Luckily, in the 1990s, the palace was carefully restored. It now looks just like it did when it was first built.
Contents
History of the Main Post Office
In 1901, the General Direction of Mail became a separate government agency. Before this, it was part of the Ministry of Communications and Transportation. Leaders decided that mail services needed their own special building. This was because about 130 million pieces of mail were handled each year!
The Italian architect Adamo Boari was chosen to design the new building. His design cleverly blended many different styles. Military engineer Gonzalo Garita y Frontera oversaw the construction. The building was built on the site of an old hospital, which was taken down in 1902.
A new building technique called "Chicago" was used for the foundation. This involved a thick concrete slab reinforced with steel beams. Most of this special foundation was made in New York and shipped to Mexico. The first stone was laid on September 14, 1902. Construction continued for five more years.
In 1907, the building was officially opened by Porfirio Diaz, who was the president of Mexico at the time. He symbolically dropped two postcards into a mail slot. One went to Mexico City, and the other to a different part of the country. For a while, people also called this palace the Quinta Casa de Correos. This means "Fifth House of Mail," as it was the fifth building to house postal services in Mexico City.
The palace has been a working post office since 1907. However, in the 1950s, the Bank of Mexico needed more space. It took over a large part of the Palacio de Correos. Two bridges were built to connect the palace to the Bank of Mexico building next door. These changes removed many original decorations. They also added a lot of weight to the building's steel structure. This caused damage, which got much worse during the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.
What the Palace Looks Like
The Palacio de Correos has a very unique architectural style. It blends many different looks, like Art Nouveau, Spanish Renaissance, and Gothic. You can also see elements from Moorish, Neoclassical, and Baroque styles. It uses a mix of materials and designs from Europe and Mexico. The palace has beautiful decorations made of marble, plaster, and white "cantera" stone from Puebla.
The building has a strong steel frame. Its foundation is built on a huge grid of steel beams. This special design has helped it survive many earthquakes. It also avoids the problem of buildings sinking, which happens often in Mexico City.
The post office is made from a light-colored stone called "chiluca." The outside is covered with amazing details. You can see iron dragon light fixtures and fancy carvings around the windows. Much of the metal work, like the window frames, is shiny brass made in Italy. Each floor has windows in a different style, but they all look good together because of the repeating arches.
The main entrance has a large iron canopy. This was a popular design in the early 1900s, known as Art Nouveau. The fourth-floor gallery has thin, twisted columns and a delicate cresting that goes all around the building.
Inside, the floors and shelves are made of marble. The bronze and iron window frames were made in Florence, Italy. The main stairway is very impressive. It has two separate ramps that meet in the middle. They seem to cross again on the second landing before going in different directions. The meeting room has colorful paintings by Bartolomé Gallotti. These paintings are on a base of 24-carat gold. They show the history of sending messages.
Bringing the Palace Back to Life
From the 1950s to the 1980s, the Bank of Mexico used a large part of the Palacio. The Bank made many changes, like adding security walls and roofing over open areas. These changes added a lot of weight and stress to the building. This caused damage even before the big earthquake in 1985. The earthquake made the damage much worse.
Many buildings nearby were also destroyed or badly damaged. So, when the city started rebuilding, the Bank decided to move out of the Palacio. They built new offices nearby instead. Because of its beauty and history, the Palacio was declared an Artistic Monument on May 4, 1987. Restoration work began in the 1990s.
These restoration efforts were very successful. Workers found many old pictures and documents of the building. These were kept in the National Archives. They also found the architect Adamo Boari's daughter in Italy. She generously gave her father's original plans and notes from the project. You can now see these at the National Museum of Architecture, which is in the Palacio de Bellas Artes.
The restoration started by fixing the building's structure. They repaired and strengthened the columns and steel beams damaged by the earthquake. Next, they removed the extra weight added by the Bank of Mexico's changes. They made the floors the correct weight and design again. Finally, they rebuilt the interiors. Many original decorations had been destroyed, but Boari's plans helped bring them back. The project also updated the post office's technology.
Until 2013, the Naval Historical Museum was located on the fourth floor of the palace. It covered a large area of 1,346 square meters. The museum displayed models, photos, maps, and other items about Mexico's history of sailing and ships.
The museum had six different areas, from A to F. Each area showed a different time or part of Mexico's sea history.
- Section A looked at the beginnings of sailing in both the Old World and New World. It showed the first maps of the New World.
- Section B covered sea events during the time of New Spain.
- Section C focused on the period after Mexico became independent in 1821, up to the early 1900s.
- Section D was about the Mexican Revolution from 1910 to 1920. This included battles like the one between the "Tampico" and the "Guerrero." It also covered the United States occupation of Veracruz.
- Section E, called "Modern Mexico," showed the years between 1920 and 1970. This included Mexico's role in World War II.
- The last section, F, was "Contemporary Mexico," from 1970 to 2004. It highlighted the Mexican Navy's newest ships and future plans.
The museum also had many paintings. These included portraits of important naval figures. There were also paintings of historical events. For example, the defense of the Fort of San Juan de Ulúa and the bombing of Veracruz in 1846. Other paintings showed the lake battle during the Spanish Conquest of Tenochtitlan and the sinking of the "Potrero del Llano."
See also
In Spanish: Palacio Postal para niños
