Palacio de Correos de Mexico

Palacio de Correos
View of the Palacio de Correos in Mexico City from the NW
General information
Type	art-deco
Architectural style	Spanish Renaissance Revival
Location	center of Mexico City, on the Eje Central (Lazaro Cardenas) near the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Coordinates	Mexico_type:landmark City 19°26′08″N 99°08′25″W / 19.435686°N 99.1404°W / 19.435686; -99.1404Coordinates: Mexico_type:landmark City 19°26′08″N 99°08′25″W / 19.435686°N 99.1404°W / 19.435686; -99.1404

The Palacio de Correos de Mexico (Postal Palace of Mexico City) also known as the "Correo Mayor" (Main Post Office) is located in the historic center of Mexico City, on the Eje Central (Lazaro Cardenas) near the Palacio de Bellas Artes. It was built at the very beginning of the 20th century, when the Post Office here became a separate government entity. Its design and construction was the most modern of the time, including a very eclectic style mixing several different traditions into a very complex design. In the 1950s, the building was modified in a way that caused stress and damage, so when the 1985 earthquake struck Mexico City, this building was heavily damaged. In the 1990s, restoration work has brought the building back to original construction and appearance.

In 1901, the Dirección General de Correos (General Direction of Mail) was made a separate government agency. Before, it has been an administrative division of the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation. It was then decided that this function should have its own building, in part due the volume of mail being handled annually at that time, which was about 130 million pieces. The site chosen was the old Hospital of Terceros Franciscanos, which was demolished in 1902. The foundation laid was a new technique called "Chicago" consisting of a concrete slab with a thickness of 70 cm reinforced with steel beams. This foundation was mostly constructed in New York, by the Millinken Brothers and shipped to Mexico in 1903. The first stone of the building was placed on 14 September 1902, and work on the building lasted for another five years. In 1907, the building was inaugurated by then president of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, who, in a symbolic act, dropped two postcards into the receiving bin, one addressed to a location in Mexico City, and one addressed to a different locale in the country. For some time after it was built, this palace was also called the Quinta Casa de Correos (Fifth House of Mail), since it was the fifth building to house postal services in Mexico City.

The building has remained in continuous operation as a post office since 1907. However, in the 1950s, the growing economy forced the Bank of Mexico next door to occupy a large section of the Palacio de Correos, for this reason, two bridges were built to connect the Palacio with the Bank of Mexico building. Modifications for the Bank destroyed much of the decoration elements that were originally in this section. They also added greatly to the weight of the building and have overloaded the steel structure. This would cause damage to the building, along with the 1985 Mexico City earthquake.