page_title: Zócalo
section_title: Era of the Porfiriato
hierarchical_section_title: Zócalo / History / Era of the Porfiriato
caption_attribution_description: English: Model of Mexico City circa 1910 located in the Metro station Zocalo in Mexico City.
context_page_description: The Zócalo or Plaza del Zócalo is the common name of the main square in central Mexico City. Prior to the colonial period, it was the main ceremonial center in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. The plaza used to be known simply as the "Main Square" or "Arms Square", and today its formal name is Plaza de la Constitución. This name does not come from any of the Mexican constitutions that have governed the country but rather from the Cádiz Constitution which was signed in Spain in the year 1812. Even so, it is almost always called the Zócalo today. Plans were made to erect a column as a monument to Independence, but only the base, or zócalo was built. The plinth was buried long ago but the name has lived on. Many other Mexican towns and cities, such as Oaxaca, Mérida and Guadalajara, have adopted the word zócalo to refer to their main plazas, but not all.
  It has been a gathering place for Mexicans since Aztec times, having been the site of Mexica ceremonies, the swearing-in of viceroys, royal proclamations, military parades, Independence ceremonies and modern religious events such as the festivals of Holy Week and Corpus Christi.
context_section_description: In 1878, Antonio Escandon donated a kiosk to the city which was set over and on top of Santa Anna's base. It was lit with four large iron candelabras and designed to be similar to one in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Soon afterward, the company Ferrocarriles del Distrito Federal ("Trains of the Federal District") converted part of the Zócalo into a streetcar station with ticket kiosk and stand. The streetcars and lighting were converted to electric power in 1894, and the Zócalo's paths were paved with asphalt in 1891.
  From the latter half of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, the Zócalo again filled with market stalls, including the "Centro Mercantil" which sold fabric, clothing, and Art Nouveau stonework. The other stalls concentrated on more mundane merchandise. This caused pedestrians to take their walks on Alameda Central or on San Francisco and Madero streets, to the west of the Zócalo.
caption: Model of the Zócalo circa 1910 with gardens and footpaths
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