Wisconsin herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1846-1849, 1846-06-27
The City Of Mexico.

ne CITY oil NSNicO Is Sliu 10 DC tile
finest built city on the American Con-
tinent. In some respects it certainly
is so. In the principal streets the
houses are all constructed according to
the strictest architectural rules. The
foundations Of the city were laid, and
the first buildings were erected by Cor
ties, WHO did everything well which he
interpolation building houses or
writing couplet to conquering an EN-.
pire. Many of the finest buildings in
Mexico arc still! owned by his descend
ants. The public square is said to be
unsurpassed by any in the world; it
contains some twelve or fifteen acres
paved with stone. The cathedral COW
crs ono entire side, the palace another;
the western side is occupied by row
Of very high and substantial houses, the
second stories Of which project into the
street the width Of the pavem mt; the
lower stories are occupied by the prin-
cipal retail merchants of the city. Tho
most Of these houses were built by
Cortes, who, with his characi eristic sa.
g ,city g. an avaricc that equally charac-
,eriz ID him in the latter part Of his life,
selected the best portion Of The city for
himself.
The Presidents Palace, formerly
the paIace Of the viceroys, is an i'm
mense building Of three stories high,
about five hundred feet in length, and
three hundred and fifty wide, il stands
on the site OF The palace OF Montczuma.
1t is difficult I, conceive of so much
stone and mortar being put together in
IA less tasteful and imposing shape; it
has much more the Appearance of
cotton factory or penitentiary than
what it really is; the windows are
small, and a parapet wall runs the
whole length of the building, with
nothing to relieve the monotony Of its
appearance except some very in
different ornamental work in the CEN
tire; there ale no doors in the front
either Of the second or third stories -
nothing but disproportionately small
windows, and TOO many of them; the
the three doors, and there are only
three in the lower story, are destitute
OF all architectural beauty or ornament.
Only a very small part Of this palace
is appropriated 10 the residence of the
President; all the public Offices are
here including those Of the heads fthe
different departments ministers OF
war, foreign relations, finance and JUS
ticc, the public treasury, &c, &c. The
halls Of the honse Of deputies and OF
the senate arc also in the same building,
and last and least. The botanic garden.
After passing through all sorts Of filth
and dirt on the basement story you
come to dark narrow passage which
conducts you 10 massive door, whirh
when you have succeeded in opening,
you enter on apartment enclosed with
high walls on every side but open AT
The top, and certainly not exceeding
eighty feet square, and this is the bo-
tanic garden Of the palace OF Mexico;
a few shrubs and plants and the cele-
brated manila-tree. arc all tat IL con-
tains. ] have rarely in my life seen
more gloomy and desolste looking
place. II is much more like prison
than a garden. A decrepid, palsied old
man. said to be more than hundred |
years old, is the superintendent OF the /
no one could have been |
selected more in keeping with the gen.
,raI dilapid rtion and dreariness of this
affair.
Bot the cathedral, which occupies
Inc site Of the great idol temple Of
Montezuma, offers striking contrast.
II Is five hundred feet long By four hun
dred and twenty wide. 1t would be
,uperhuous to add another to the many
descriptions Of this famous building