THE LATINAMERICAN TOWER,

THE LATINAMERICAN TOWER,
CORNER OF MADERO AND EJE CENTRAL

A building becomes the symbol of a modern city very slowly. It takes people time to appreciate it, and assimilate it into their daily lives. But once they have, it becomes an important example of who they are, and the community in which they live. Then it moves to the norm, a direction, a place to meet up, and suddenly life without it would be unthinkable, unimaginable. So it is with the Sydney Opera House, or the Empire State Building, both built as symbols of emerging culture and progress, which very quickly became icons in their own right. �The Latin-American Tower is a symbol of Mexico City, and its historical centre. It quickly became a symbol of its progress and modernity, becoming the tallest building in Latinamerica in its day. The new, brassy rebellious younger brother stands on the other side of the street as its refined and educated elder sister, the Palace of Fine Arts.

The original owners of the building were the Latin-American Insurance Company who wanted a symbol of their growing company, a modern building for a a modern company. The owners turned to the young Mexican architect Agosto H. Álvarez, a teacher at the Faculty of Architecture at UNAM, and a former tutee of José Villagrán García, who designed the Master Plan of Ciudad Universitaria. �The engineering department of Latin-American Insurance Company contracted Bethlehem Steel Company to supply the steel structure. It was then erected by the Mexican constructor Jerffrey S.A. �Before foundation work, soil analysis found a volcanic clay type typical to many parts of the Centro Historico. The decision was made to drive steel and cement pylons 13.5 metres into the soil to stabilise the overlaying structure. Álvarez designed the building itself to be symmetrical with setbacks at the 9th, 14th and 38th floors. The facade of the building itself was made of aluminium and glass. �The building was completed in April 1956, but there was an underlying problem. Apart from the Latin-American Insurance Company and a few architectural firms, no-one wanted to move into the building. As it towered over the rest of the Centro Historico, people were scared to move in. With 90 % of the building empty, it was considered too high to be safe in such an earthquake prone area.

In a simple twist of fate, an earthquake struck the city the following year in the middle of the night. It was of such a magnitude it brought the Angel of Independence statue crashing to the ground. The Tower stood tall, undamaged, and its floors subsequently became occupied. �The best time to see this building is on a clear morning after a ferocious Summer rain storm. The air is as clear as crystal, and you can catch the elevator to the 44th floor viewing area where you can look out over the whole of the Valley of Mexico. Simply amazing.

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