Paseo de Montejo
Paseo de Montejo is a notable avenue of
México. It is named after Francisco de Montejo, the Spanish conquistador who founded the city in 1542, and is the location of some of the most iconic buildings and monuments of the city.[1][2] Inspired by the French boulevard, the avenue is flanked by trees and has several roundabouts
along its course. Many beautiful mansions were built along the avenue by wealthy Yucatecans of the 19th century.
It extends north from the city downtown (the Santa Ana neighbourhood) and connects into highway 231 just south of the Mayan Museum (Gran Museo Maya). Its length of over 6 km makes it one of the longest avenues of the city.
History
In the final decades of the 19th century,
Mérida
had no avenues. The only major gathering places in the city were: La Alameda (also known as Paseo de las Bonitas), El Camposanto, La Cruz de Gálvez, and el Limonar. Thus, during the governorship of Guillermo Palomino (1886-1889), there emerged the idea of expanding the urbanization of the Yucatecan capital amidst the advantageous circumstances of the economic boom that they were experiencing.
In January 1888, with the support of a group of farmers, industrialists, and merchants of the era, that idea took shape in the form of a boulevard named "Paseo de Montejo"; the hope and end goal of the project being to modernize the city and to provide an additional hub for social and commercial gatherings.
References
- ^ Chamberlain, Robert S. (1966). The Conquest and Colonization of Yucatan. New York: Octagon Books Inc. pp. 202–219.
- ISBN 9780787650155.
- ISBN 9780271058870.
