Edificio La Nacional is an Art Deco office building located in Avenida Juárez, in the Historical Centre of Mexico City, just across the street from Palacio de Bellas Artes. The building's architect was

Manuel Ortiz Monasterio Manuel may refer to: People * Manuel (name) * Manuel (Fawlty Towers), a fictional character from the sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' * Charlie Manuel, manager of the Philadelphia Phillies * Manuel I Komnenos, emperor of the Byzantine Empire * M ...

, former director of the

Escuela Nacional de Arquitectura The School of Architecture at UNAM is one of the leading schools of architecture and design in Mexico. It offers undergraduate and postgraduate studies in architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism and industrial design. History The schoo ...

. It is considered to be the first building over 10 stories in Mexico. The building was built between 1929 and 1932. It is known as "La Nacional" because it was originally home to the National Insurance Company (''La Companía Nacional de Seguros''). It was the tallest building in Mexico City until Edificio Corcuera was built in 1937. It stands 56 meters and 13 floors, served by five elevators. Its steel frame was designed to withstand the strong earthquakes that regularly shake the city. Total building area is . It suffered some damage but survived the

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...

and

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

earthquakes that took place in Mexico City, but was slightly damaged in the 2012 Oaxaca-Guerrero earthquake. The building next to it, known as "La Nacional II" and considered an annex, was built in 1949 and contains a Sears store. The eight floor houses a popular café, that offers views to Palacio de Bellas Artes and Alameda Park.

References

Skyscraper office buildings in Mexico City Art Deco architecture in Mexico Office buildings completed in 1932 {{mexico-struct-stub