Colonia Juárez (Mexico City)

Colonia Juarez is one of the better–known neighborhoods or colonias in the Cuauhtémoc borough of Mexico City. The neighborhood is shaped like a long triangle with the boundaries: Paseo de la Reforma on the north, Avenida Chapultepec on the south, and Eje 1 Poniente (Avenida Bucareli) on the east.

It is located between the historic center of Mexico City and the Chapultepec Park area, just south of the Paseo de la Reforma, which is one of Mexico’s main commercial districts and its financial center. Since it was established in the late 19th century and early 20th as a haven for the wealthy leaving the city center, the colonia has been in near constant change. Most of the mansions built in the early part of its history have either been abandoned, converted into businesses or been taken over by squatters. However, it has had a cosmopolitan and intellectual reputation since its founding, which was reinforced with the influx of artists and intellectuals in the 1960s. The area has suffered deterioration since the 1980s, due to the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and other factors, but there have been efforts to return the area’s former prestige, including tourism promotion, historic conservation efforts and the urbanization of areas close to Paseo de la Reforma.

The best known area of the colonia is Zona Rosa (Pink Zone) which is a tourist attraction for its artistic and intellectual reputation and is home to Mexico City’s gay community. It is also home to “Little Seoul,” center of the city’s Korean immigrant population.

In the 1860s, this area was shallow lake waters and swamp and was almost completely uninhabited. However, one reason that the city eventually expanded this way was the decision by Empress Carlota to build a road to connect the Castle of Chapultepec to the downtown of the city. The road was designed by Austrian engineer Allois Bollan Kuhmackl in 1865 with its trajectory recommended by the emperor. Its use was exclusive to the emperor and his retinue. When Republican forces overthrew the emperor, this avenue was named Paseo Degollado. A few years later, it received its current name. Between 1872 and 1876, President Lerdo de Tejada widened the road to its current dimensions and opened it to the public in 1877.

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Wikipedia