LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Mexico City: Centers
built 627 days ago
Founded in the fourteenth century, Mexico City has been a center for three great civilizations: the Aztecs, the Spanish, and the modern-day Mexicans. But in addition to an imposing political background, its geographical location has assured the city a fascinating ecological and environmental history. Mexico City lies in a basin 7,350 feet (2,240 m) high. It is surrounded by mountain ranges on all sides, and the presence of the extinct volcanoes Ixtacihuatl and Popocatepetl to the east are a reminder that the city lies on an active earthquake fault.
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In 1985 a major earthquake, centered on Mexico City itself, caused extensive damage in the central part of the city. Especially hard hit were the older buildings, many of which were not designed to withstand earthquakes. The government of Mexican president Miguel de la Madrid did not respond effectively to the crisis. Many city residents came to believe that the government was more concerned about protecting the damaged buildings from possible looting than about rescuing those trapped in the ruins. Citizens joined together to carry out the rescue efforts themselves, creating a strong sense of community.
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Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico... called the Valley of Anáhuac, a large valley in the high plateaus at the center of Mexico, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,349 feet). It was originally built by the Aztecs in 1325 on an island of Lake Texcoco. The city was almost completely destroyed in the siege of 1521, and was redesigned and rebuilt in the following years following the Spanish urban standards. In 1524 the municipality of Mexico City was established, known as México Tenustitlán, and as of 1585 it is officially known as Ciudad de México.[6]
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Like the layers of an onion, architectural examples of post-independence Mexico appear as you move from the center of the city outwards. First come the French style residences of the years of the Porfirio dictatorship, then the homes in art deco of the Colonia Condesa, the buildings decorated with the murals of Rivera, Orozco and Siqueiros, the modernist constructions of the 1950s and finally, surprising examples of contemporary architecture, especially in the suburbs.
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This is the main square of Mexico City’s historic center. At 830 x 500 feet, it's the second largest public square in the world (Moscow’s Red Square is bigger). The great expanse of paved space is decorated with a single huge Mexican flag in the center. This is the heart of the city, the site of events, festivals and protests, and a good place to start your explorations.
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