Americas

[Visited: June 2025]

After exploring another neighbourhood of the endless metropole of Mexico City, I get off the subway at Bellas Artes station. My plan is to walk to the Panteón de San Fernando, but my eyes fall on the remarkable building opposite the Palacio de Bellas Artes. While I have seen the latter many times before, for some reason, I had missed the Palacio Postal on earlier occasions. I ditch my original plan, and decide to cross the street and have a closer look at this curious beauty. First, I walk around the block, and when I reach the entrance, take a peek inside. People are buying their stamps and posting their mail, and I wonder if they realize that they do so in one of the most remarkable post offices around.
Then, I enter the building and after admiring the interior, discover that it is actually possible to visit, and buy my ticket. I arrive at the monumental staircase right in the middle of the building. This is where the extravaganza really starts. Bronze railings, produced in Italy, with Mexican marble on the steps, latticework between them, and elaborate lamps on the edges. The staircase alone is worth the visit, and I stand for a while at the bottom to have a better look at its beauty. Then, my eyes wonder higher, where I see windows, richly decorated ceilings, arches openings in galleries on the higher floors, and an enormous glass roof to cover it all.
After walking up the stairs to the first floor, I walk around the galley, allowing me views both below and to the higher floor, and the impressive glass roof. I wonder how this magnificent building survived in a city known for devastating earthquakes, and learn that the architect, Italian Adamo Boari, carefully designed a structure that would be able to withstand violent rumblings from below. Apart from the construction itself, he managed to blend an array of different styles, like Art Nouveau, Renaissance, Gothic, Baroque, Art Deco and others into one building that doesn't fail to impress visitors. On the top floors, I visit the postal museum where rare stamps from Mexico and other countries are on display, where I learn about the history of stamps as well as the history of the building itself. When I'm finally back on the ground floor, and see people at the counters of this still functioning post office, I wonder if they realize that they are in one of the most beautiful post offices in the world.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

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Palacio Postal (Mexico)

Palacio Postal > Mexico > Americas

[Visited: June 2025]

Around the World in 80 Clicks