The Centro Cultural Bella Epoca is a cultural 3,000 square meter cultural centre in the

Condesa Condesa or La Condesa is an area in the Cuauhtémoc Borough of Mexico City, south of Zona Rosa and 4 to 5 km west of the Zócalo, the city's main square. It is immediately west of Colonia Roma, together with which it is designated as ...

neighborhood in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. It includes the

Rosario Castellanos Rosario Castellanos Figueroa (; 25 May 1925 – 7 August 1974) was a Mexican poet and author. She was one of Mexico's most important literary voices in the last century. Throughout her life, she wrote eloquently about issues of cultural and gend ...

bookshop (claimed to be the largest bookshop in Latin America) which carries over 35 thousand different titles, and has a children’s area, a coffee shop, and reading facilities. The ''Cine Lido'' art cinema and ''Galería Luis Cardoza y Aragón'' art gallery are also housed in the cultural center.

History

The building occupied by the cultural centre began its life as the ''Cine Lido'' cinema in 1942. It was designed in

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style by the American architect Charles Lee. At some point the cinema changed its name to ''Bella Época''. In 1999 the city's government acquired the building but was unable to come up with any use for it. Finally in 2003 the government owned ''Fondo de Cultura Económica'' bought the building with the intention of turning it into a cultural centre.

Renewal

The renewal project was in charge of Mexican architect

Teodoro González de León Teodoro González de León (May 29, 1926 – September 16, 2016) was a Mexican architect. Biography González de León studied at the Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) from 1942 to 19 ...

, who also directed the construction of the

Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum Museo Rufino Tamayo is a public contemporary art museum located in Mexico City's Chapultepec Park, that produces contemporary art exhibitions, using its collection of modern and contemporary art, as well as artworks from the collection of its fo ...

and the renewal of the

National Auditorium National Auditorium ( es, Auditorio Nacional) is an entertainment center at Paseo de la Reforma #50, Chapultepec in Mexico City. The National Auditorium is considered among the world's best venues by specialized media. It was designed by Mexica ...

, among other projects. The original

architecture of the building exterior was preserved. The 2,000 square meters glass ceiling was designed by

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

artist

Jan Hendrix Jan Hendrix (born 1949) is a Dutch people, Dutch-born artist who has lived and worked in Mexico since 1978. Hendrix received the Order of the Aztec Eagle from the Government of Mexico, Mexican government for his work in art and architecture. Life ...

and it explores natural forms with a simulated Arab writing.

External links

*�
Official Centro Cultural Bella Época website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centro Cultural Bella Epoca 1942 establishments in Mexico 20th-century architecture in Mexico Art Deco architecture in Mexico Arts in Mexico City Buildings and structures completed in 1942 Buildings and structures in Mexico City Condesa Cultural centers in Mexico Cultural heritage of Mexico