Alameda Central and the Juárez Hemicycle

You're in the Alameda Central, considered the oldest public park in the Americas. Its name comes from the poplars (álamos) planted when it was created, and for more than four centuries it has been the city's favourite promenade: first for the colonial aristocracy, then for everyone.

1A promenade from 1592

Viceroy Luis de Velasco the Younger ordered its creation in 1592, on what was then the edge of the city. At first it was smaller and fenced in; in the 18th century it was enlarged to its present size and filled with fountains. Close by, at its western end beside the convent of San Diego, stood the Inquisition's burning ground, where sentences of death by fire were carried out. In the 19th century it gained street lamps, bandstands and sculptures, and became the showcase of social life.

2The Juárez Hemicycle

In front of you, on Avenida Juárez, stands a semicircle of Doric columns in white Carrara marble: the Hemiciclo a Juárez, unveiled in September 1910 for the Centennial of Independence. In the middle, Benito Juárez sits while the figure of the Nation crowns him with laurel, beside a figure representing the Law. The design is by the architect Guillermo de Heredia, and the sculptures by the Italian Alessandro Lazzerini.

In 1947 Diego Rivera gathered four centuries of Mexican history for a stroll through this park in his mural "Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Central".

That mural is now kept in the Diego Rivera Mural Museum, just west of the park.

3What to look for

• The Hemicycle, with its twelve Doric columns.
• The fountains with sculptures dotted along the paths.
• The silhouette of Bellas Artes, closing off the park to the east.