Palacio Postal--page 1 (of four pages)

This palatial post office was erected on the site of the old Hospital of Terceros Franciscanos, which was demolished in 1902. It is built of cream-color sandstone from Teayo, Puebla, and marble from Carrara, Italy. The west facade is asymmetric with four central bays highlighting the four-portal entrance but with six bays to the north and two to the south. Like many Renaissance buildings all four registers are different. Here the facade is topped with a long open arcade essentially unrelated to the lower registers. The west facade
		Renaissance Revival style Across from the Palacio de Bellas Artes, this still functioning central post office was built during the reign of Porfirio Díaz in an eclectic version of the Renaissance Revival style. With its blend of Gothic, Spanish Plateresque, and Venetian styles, it is typical of the stylistic influence of European models; buildings like this emphasized Mexico's stability and progress during this president's reign.
	End towered bay The southwest and northeast corners have pavilions topped with squatty towers. Lacy cresting around the tops echoes the cresting along the length of the top of the building while shields within roundels are used decoratively below the cresting. Coupled arched windows have decorative molding as well as spiral mullions. The registers below the top have window and wall treatments often described as Venetian Gothic (though less ornate). See, for example, the Doge's Palace in Venice.
Outdoor mail slots and decorative light fixtures
The northwest corner entrance The corner facade is essentially Venetian Gothic with filigree designs while the portal has a Renaissance segmented flat arch. On the second and third registers cartouches are held by cherubs. Windows are bordered by decorative slender columns ending in floral corbels.

Go to the Mexico Index.

Click here to return to index of art historical sites.

Click here to return to index of artists and architects.

Click here to return to chronological index.

Click here to see the home page of Bluffton University.