The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15
QUAINT CITY OF MEXICO
CAPITAL OF THE REPUBLIC RICH IN HISTORIC MEMORIES
Traces of Days When Various Trades Were Segregated-Cathedral is the Third Largest Build
 ing of Its Glass.

There are many cities in Europe that are famed wherever man exists Tor their
 ancient records and valuable archaelog-
 icai possessions. The American continent
 has but few really old cities and these are venerable only by comparison. St. Augustine on the eastern coast stands alone in it's class. It dates from the first
 landing of the Spaniards under Cortez, Santa Fe, N. M, is very ancient and so
 is the City of Mexico, the capital of our sister republic.
 Every old city has its legends. it's sto- ries, its peculiar customs and its char acteristic quarters. Of all the cities in the new world Mexico has clustered with in 1t more of legend. history. tradition and quaint customs and people than any other Almost every street has its story, and these stories cover all the gamut
 of the picturesque. the horrible. the sefl- timental and the pathetic.
 In its early history the City of Mexico was divided into wards or quarters, each one of which was the special home of some trade or profession. There was the street or quarter Of the shoemakers, the
 streets of the silversmiths, of the bak- CTS, of the saddle-malSers, of the butch CTS, of the watchmakers, of the silk mer- chants, of the wine sellers and so on There was even the street of the coffin makers.
 Their Distinctiveness Has Gone. 1 Many of these old names still exist. though the caste-lilxe character of the streets has somewhat changed One Of the most fashionable streets of the city | ia Plateros. the street of the silversmiths. Even to-day there are more 1ewelry | shops on this street than any other Kind | of business, and here still are to be found
 the most fashionable jewelry and art curio stores of the city. The street of the coffin-makers still ex- ists and is now very appropriately known ! as the Street of Death. It is narrow lane, running the length of only one block.
 Cinco de Mayo 9th of May) street was named in commemoration of the decisive advantage gained by Mexican troops over the French. which took place upon that date. This naming of streets. parks and public places after dates IS common In Spanish countries.
 One end of Cinco de Mayo street en-
 ters the Zocalo. the principal square of the city. The Zocalo has seen many -his- toric happenings. There in olden times
 was the great temple of the Aztecs,
 which was. with it's accompanying base | or pyramid, larger than St. Peters at
 Rome, the largest church building In the
 world. There, too. was the palace Of PoAoNSS' noted. one the old. in which were quar- tered Cortez and his officers, building whose vast size excited the admiration | of even the Spaniards themselves, used
 as they were to the vast structures of
 the Moors of their day, which stln ex-
 isted in Spain in all their splendor. An Imposing Cathedral. On the Zocalo, too, is the Cathedral of
 Mexico, the third largest church build ing in the world, which occupied 100 years in building. On this public square | the common people believed Tor long time that the ghost of the unfortunate | Aztec emperor. Monte1uma. wandered at
 night. lamenting the loss of empire and
 the destruction of his people. Even to- day the number folk believo that tunnel connects the cathedral with the castle
 of Chapultepec, the presidential residence three and half miles away, at the end
 of the Paseo dc la Refornla, one of the
 finest and noblest public drives In the
 world
 One of the historic streets of Mexico is
 Mariscala. This faces the north side of
 the Alameda, the largest and most fash
 ionaole park of the city. It was along
 this street that the army Of CorteS' the
 great conqueror of Mexico, passed on the
 dismal night" when he was driven from
 tho city by the Aztecs. on this street,
 LOO, occurred some or tno hioSt No0t tss' fighting on that terrible night. There
 the spaniards were able to do nothing against the tigerlike feroeity ana fanau- cism of the Aztecs.
 Names Curious But Interesting. .
 On the opposite side of the Alameda IS Avenida Juarez named after the great Mexican reformer, who h@a freed the country from the grinding rule of the church. This is a wide, weH,paved street and on account of its width and It's central location is the scene or all the public processions. especially those or e oivln character. This street IS a con