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 ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

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 main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Sq ...

to the

Eje Central The Eje Central or Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas is an avenue in the Cuauhtémoc and Gustavo A. Madero boroughs of Mexico City, Mexico. It is part of a system called eje vial of roadways built by Carlos Hank González to modernize Mexico City for imp ...

. From that point the street is called

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 –

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 ...

, a leader of the Anti-Re-election Movement and who was briefly

President of Mexico The president of Mexico ( es, link=no, Presidente de México), officially the president of the United Mexican States ( es, link=no, Presidente de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is the head of state and head of government of Mexico. Under the Co ...

before his assassination in 1913.

Description

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 ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl ...

capital

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

. 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 ...

, home of the famous Jockey Club or imported products stores, some of which exist until today as the "Pastelería El Globo" (El Globo Pastry) and "Sombreros Tardán" (Tardán Hats). Another famous store was "Droguería Plateros" (Plateros Drugstore) at 9 Second Street of Plateros. In its upper part, Ferdinand Bon Benard and Gabriel Veyre, dealers of Lumiere Brothers, gave on August 14, 1896 the first cinema show in Mexico. There are chronicles about the popularity of the Madero street as a social point of meeting written by José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, Guillermo Prieto, Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera and Luis G. Urbina, among others.

Names

Street sign Mexico city - FCO I Madero - 3

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 Bolívar street, was called "First and Second Street of San Francisco" after the large church and monastery complex at that location. Further East, between Bolívar 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 grea ...

's road) after the silver jewellery workshops and stores established in that block after an ordinance given by the viceroy Lope Díez de Armendáriz, in the seventeenth century. The present name was bestowed by

Francisco "Pancho" Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa (,"Villa"
''

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 Troo ...

and Zapata's

Liberation Army of the South The Liberation Army of the South ( es, Ejército Libertador del Sur, ELS) was a guerrilla force led for most of its existence by Emiliano Zapata that took part in the Mexican Revolution from 1911 to 1920. During that time, the Zapatistas foug ...

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

(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 Novohispanic Franciscan Catholic missionary who became one of the Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan, the first Mexican saint and patron saint of Mexico City.Ronald J. Morgan, ''Spanish American S ...

^{( Sp)} * The Casa del Marqués de Jaral de Berrio, now known as

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 Valparaíso as a wedding gift for his daughter. It gained the name ''� ...

, which became hotel after being the home of Agustin de Iturbide. *The Borda House, home of José de la Borda. *The

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 (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)

References

External links

* {{Historic buildings of Mexico City Centro Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City Historic center of Mexico City Pedestrian malls Streets in Mexico City Tourist attractions in Mexico City Shopping districts and streets in Mexico