Avenida Reforma ("Reform Avenue") is a main boulevard in the east-center part of

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

, the capital of

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. It is considered one of the main thoroughfares of Guatemala City. It is in length, and has an average width of from sidewalk to sidewalk. It runs from north to south, connecting the north-central areas of the city (Zones 1, 4, and 5) with the southern districts (Zones 9, 10, 13, and 14). It divides Zone 9 from Zone 10. The Zona Viva, where multiple modern buildings can be found, is adjacent to Avenida Reforma. The southern end is at the

Obelisco Obelisco may refer to: *Obelisk of Buenos Aires The Obelisco de Buenos Aires (Obelisk of Buenos Aires) is a national historic monument and icon of Buenos Aires. Located in the Plaza de la República in the intersection of avenues Corrientes an ...

, where it is continued by Avenida Las Americas.

History

The Avenida Reforma was originally known as ''Boulevard 30 de Junio'' (June 30th), to commemorate the victory of the liberal forces of

Miguel García Granados Miguel García Granados y Zavala (29 September 1809 – 8 September 1878) was a Spanish-born Guatemalan politician and military general who served as President of Guatemala from 1871 to 1873. Early life García Granados was born in El ...

and Justo Rufino Barrios. Construction started in 1892, and it was inaugurated in 1895 under president

José María Reina Barrios José María Reyna Barrios (24 December 1854 – 8 February 1898) was President of Guatemala from 15 March 1892 until his death on 8 February 1898. He was born in San Marcos, Guatemala and was nicknamed ''Reynita'', the diminutive form, bec ...

. President Reina Barrios had wanted to showcase Guatemala's economic boom for the 1897 Central American Expo; drawing inspiration from the

Champs Elysées Champs may refer to: Music * The Champs, a U.S. instrumental music group * Champs (Brazilian band), a Brazilian boy band * Champs (British band), a British folk- and indie rock-influenced band * The Fucking Champs, a U.S. progressive heavy metal ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he commissioned several sculptures and fountains from foreign artists. He also commissioned the ''Palacio de la Reforma'', a French style palace that was located at the southern end of the boulevard and served as a museum. Incidentally, these expenses, among other reasons, caused an economic crisis in the country. The 1917-1918 earthquakes destroyed many of the buildings along the boulevard, including the Reforma Palace. The southern end of the Avenida Reforma remained empty until 1935, when the

was built. Throughout the years, the Avenida Reforma has had several names; from its original name of ''Boulevard 30 de Junio'' it changed to ''Boulevard Reformador'', then to ''Boulevard La Reforma'', ''Paseo La Reforma'', and its current name of ''Avenida Reforma''. All of these names relate to the liberal reform of 1871.

Today

Due to the aforementioned earthquakes, nowadays very few of the original buildings along the avenue remain; among them, the ''Escuela Politécnica'' (Guatemala's military academy) and a few

Mission-style The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

houses. Another notable building from the early years of the Avenida Reforma is the ''Asilo de Convalecientes Joaquina Estrada Cabrera'', built in 1909. It was the first building to be restored after the earthquakes, and is now used as the offices of the Ministry of Education. Many of the residential homes have been replaced by modern buildings; it is now considered a business and commercial district. A

cycleway Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except w ...

was built along the avenue in 2013. Part of the Avenida Reforma is closed to traffic on Sunday mornings, as part of the ''Pasos y Pedales'' program implemented by the Guatemala City Municipality.

Monuments

The Avenida Reforma's broad park-like median is lined with several monuments. Two statues, of Miguel Garcia Granados and Justo Rufino Barrios, were among the first monuments erected in 1896. The former is still located at its original place, in the intersection with 2nd Street. The latter was originally located in front of the ''Palacio de la Reforma''; it was stored after the 1918 earthquakes, and has since been relocated to the railway museum in Zone 1. Throughout the 20th century, more sculptures were added, honoring diverse people such as

Henry Dunant Henry Dunant (born Jean-Henri Dunant; 8 May 182830 October 1910), also known as Henri Dunant, was a Swiss humanitarian, businessman, and social activist. He was the visionary, promoter, and co-founder of the Red Cross. In 1901, he received the ...

, founder of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

;

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don (honorific), Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader ...

and Benito Juárez, Mexican leaders;

José Joaquín Palma José Joaquín Palma Lasso (September 11, 1844 – August 2, 1911) was a Cuban writer who was the author of the Guatemalan national anthem's lyrics. Biography He was the son of Pedro Palma y Aguilera and Dolores Lasso de la Vega and went t ...

and Rafael Álvarez Ovalle, creators of the national anthem of Guatemala; and Miguel Ángel Asturias, winner of the 1967

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

. Other notable monuments are the ''Monumento a la Madre'', which honors motherhood; the

Star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...

, located in the Israel Plaza; and several statues of animals such as lions, bulls, and wild boars.

Gallery

File:Palacioreforma1900.jpg, ''Palacio de la Reforma'' in 1900 File:PolitecnicaCuartelArtilleria1899.png, ''Escuela Politécnica'' in 1899. The building is still in use. File:Reforma1903.jpg, Avenida Reforma (then ''Paseo de la Reforma'') in 1903. File:Obelisco1935.jpg, The Obelisco in 1935. File:Miradores Guatemala 17.jpg, The ''Reforma Obelisco'' building (left), built in 1976, and the ''Torre Internacional'' (right), built in 1997. File:TorreBanrural.JPG, ''Torre Banrural'', built in 1996. File:Monumento MG Granados.jpg, Monument to Miguel García Granados, which dates from 1896.

References

{{commons category, Avenida La Reforma, Guatemala City Tourist attractions in Guatemala Avenida La Reforma Guatemala City