Francisco I. Madero Avenue, commonly known as simply Madero Street, is a geographically and historically significant
pedestrian street
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
and a major thoroughfare of the historic city center. It has an east–west orientation from
Zócalo
The Zócalo () is the common name of the town square, main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the European colonization of the Americas, colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used t ...
Avenida Juárez
Avenida Juárez is a street in the Historic Center of Mexico City flanking the south side of the centuries-old Alameda Central park.
Originally each block had a different name:
*Calle de la Puente de San Francisco between San Juan de Letrán ...
and becomes accessible to one-way traffic from one of the city's main boulevards, the
Paseo de la Reforma
Paseo de la Reforma (translated as "Promenade of the Reform") is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Secon ...
.
It was named in honour of one of the most important figures in the
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
–
Francisco I. Madero
Francisco Ignacio Madero González (; 30 October 1873 – 22 February 1913) was a Mexican businessman, revolutionary, writer and statesman, who became the 37th president of Mexico from 1911 until he was deposed in a coup d'etat in February 1 ...
This street has always been one of the most popular and busiest roads since
colonial times
The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...
and was designed by Spaniard Alonso Garcia Bravo. It was one of the first streets to be drawn of the new Spanish city on the ruins of the
Aztec
The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...
.
In the nineteenth century, Madero was already one of the most popular and crowded streets of the capital. In many buildings concurred popular sites like the
Casa de los Azulejos
The Casa de los Azulejos ("House of Tiles") or Palacio de los Condes del Valle de Orizaba (Palace of the Counts of Valley of Orizaba) is an 18th-century Baroque palace in Mexico City, built by the Count of the Valle de Orizaba family. The buildi ...
Three sections of the street have each had previous names. The Western half of the street, between the current Eje Central Lázar Cárdenas (named San Juan de Letrán street at the time) and BolÃvar street, was called "First and Second Street of San Francisco" after the large church and monastery complex at that location. Further East, between BolÃvar street and Isabel la Católica street, was known as "Profesa street" after the
Temple of San Felipe Neri
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
(commonly known as "La Profesa") which is located there. Finally, the section between Isabel la Católica street and Zócalo (Constitution Square) was known as "Calle de Plateros" (
Silversmith
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...
's road) after the silver jewellery workshops and stores established in that block after an ordinance given by the viceroy
Lope DÃez de Armendáriz
Lope is an old given name of Basque, Gascon and Spanish origin, derived from Latin ''lupus'', meaning "wolf". Lope may refer to:
*Lope de Isásaga (1493–1515), Basque Spanish ''conquistador''
*Lope de Aguirre (1510s – 1561), Basque Spanish ''c ...
, in the seventeenth century.
The present name was bestowed by
troops
A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...
to Mexico City. Villa and a small group of troops placed a plaque with the new street name on the corner of Madero and Isabel la Católica streets. They announced that whoever removed the plate would be shot.
Pedestrianisation
In 2009 Alejandra Moreno, the coordinator of the Historical Center Authority, announced that the city government would pedestrianise the street. Though resisted by shop owners at the time, the change has been a success with the street being very crowded with pedestrians and increases in real-estate value for landholders. In 2012 the modifications were awarded by the ''VIII Iberoamerican Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism'' (BIAU) for best architectural and urban development.
Notable buildings
The centrality of the street, both geographically and culturally, has meant it has always been a site of mansions, churches and important buildings.
From West to East these include:
*The
Torre Latinoamericana
The Torre Latinoamericana () is a skyscraper in downtown Mexico City, situated in the historic city center. Its central location, height (), and history make it one of the city's most important landmarks. It is widely recognized internationally ...
, a skyscraper at the Western end of the street, the city's tallest building at the time of its construction in 1956
* The
Casa de los Azulejos
The Casa de los Azulejos ("House of Tiles") or Palacio de los Condes del Valle de Orizaba (Palace of the Counts of Valley of Orizaba) is an 18th-century Baroque palace in Mexico City, built by the Count of the Valle de Orizaba family. The buildi ...
(House of Tiles), the house of the Condesa del Valle de Orizaba, now the flagship of the Sanborns restaurant chain.
* The Church of San Francisco, the third church by this name on the site, and all that remains of a large monastery complex.
* The National Church of
Philip of Jesus
Philip of Jesus, OFM (Spanish: Felipe de Jesús) was a New Spain, Novohispanic Franciscan Catholic Church, Catholic missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of Mexico City.Ronald J. ...
Palace of Iturbide
The Palace of Iturbide (1779 to 1785) is a large palatial residence located in the historic center of Mexico City at Madero Street #17. It was built by the Count of San Mateo ValparaÃso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name ''†...
Temple of San Felipe Neri "La Profesa"
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
, established by the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in the 16th century.
* The
Museo del Estanquillo
The Museo del Estanquillo ("Museum of the Little Shop") is located in the Historic Center of Mexico City, Mexico. The museum houses the personal collection of the writer Carlos Monsivais, encompassing paintings, photography, toys, albums, calenda ...
(Museum of the Little Shop) in the "La Esmeralda" building.
* The Old Portal de Mercaderes, a pair of commercial buildings on either side of the street at the entrance to the Zócalo.
Casa de los azulejos.jpg, The House of Tiles (2007)
TemploSanFelipeNeriDF.JPG, Temple of San Felipe Neri (2008)
FacadeSanFranDF.JPG, Facade of the San Francisco Church (2009)
FacadeIturbideDF.JPG, Palace of Iturbide (2009)
BordaHouseDF.JPG, Borda house (2009)
West side of the Zócalo (Mexico City).jpg, Old Portal de Mercaderes (2012)
Torre Latinoamericana Mexico City.jpg, Torre Latinoameri-cana (2012)
Fachada del Museo El Estanquillo.JPG, Museo del Estanquillo (2013)