Polanco | |
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.jpg)   _(cropped).jpg) Clockwise from top: Shops alongAvenida Presidente Masaryk; St. Augustine Parish; Angela Peralta Amphitheater inParque Lincoln; and Obelisk to Simón Bolivar at the Paseo de la Reforma entrance to Polanco | |
  Polanco Location of Polanco in Central/Western Mexico City | |
| Coordinates:19°26′N99°12′W / 19.433°N 99.200°W /19.433; -99.200 | |
| Country |  Mexico |
| City |  Mexico City |
| Borough | Miguel Hidalgo |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 27,322 |
| Website | http://www.polanco-online.com.mx |
Polanco is a neighborhood in theMiguel Hidalgo borough ofMexico City. Polanco is an affluentcolonia, noted for its luxury shopping alongPresidente Masaryk Avenue, themost expensive street in Mexico,[1] as well as for the numerous prominent cultural institutions located within the neighborhood.
Originally aresidential area of largesingle-family homes, the land use of the neighborhood began to change in the second half of the 20th century. Particularly after the1985 Mexico City earthquake, the former residences were replaced bycommercial properties and high rise buildings. Today, Polanco is best known as ashopping district.
Polanco is known for having one of the country's densest concentrations of luxury shopping, with the most upscale restaurants,high-net-worth individuals, upscale hotels, anddiplomatic missions and embassies. It is one of the most expensive real estate markets inLatin America.[2]
A newer development north of Polanco, popularly termed "Nuevo Polanco", is abusiness district that is home to BBVA, WeWork and Telecel[3] while also housing important cultural institutions such as theMuseo Soumaya and theColección Jumex.Nuevo Polanco, officially in the colonias of Granada and Ampliación Granada, is not part of the Polanco neighborhood. However, Polanco andNuevo Polanco are sometimes grouped together.
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The colonia takes its name from a river that crossed what is now the Avenue Campos Elisios (Elysian Fields Avenue), named in memory of the Spanish JesuitJuan Alfonso de Polanco, a secretary ofIgnatius of Loyola, whose relatives, members of the Polanco family, were members of board of the Kings ofSpain in the 17th century and came to Mexico as officers of the Crown.
In a plan made byFrancisco Antonio de Guerrero y Torres and dated 1784, a "ruined house Polanco" is located on the grounds of the Hacienda de San Juan de los Morales. This hacienda sits on land donated in the sixteenth century toHernán Cortés by the King of Spain, under the jurisdiction ofTacuba. At the beginning of the colonial times, parts of this land (near the current center of the Hacienda) were occupied for planting mulberry trees for breeding silkworms (hence the name "los morales"). The hull of the Hacienda as currently known dates from the eighteenth century. Extension lands belonging to the estate began to be divided in the late 1920s.
Polanco was developed in 1937 by the Aleman family, the same developers ofCiudad Satélite and San José Insurgentes districts, on the land that was originally the Hacienda de los Morales, just north of Molino del Rey town andBosque de Chapultepec.[citation needed] The first area to be built is now called Polanco Reforma and lies just north ofPaseo de la Reforma, the entrance to the new neighborhood marked by a tiled obelisk toSimon Bolivar facing Reforma. In those days, there were only mansions surrounded by gardens and tree lined streets.
By the 1960s, the first department store arrived in the neighborhood, forever transforming the face of Polanco. In the 1970s, the last piece of land to be developed was sold, the triangle of Ejército Nacional, Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca andPeriférico, where no stand-alone housing was built, only apartment buildings.
The1985 Mexico City earthquake reshaped the city layout, and Polanco was no exception; restaurants, embassies, boutiques and corporate business slowly moved fromZona Rosa and established themselves in Polanco. Big houses were torn down and replaced with new buildings. The former inhabitants typically moved to neighborhoods such as Bosques de las Lomas andLomas de Tecamachalco.
Land prices have become some of the most expensive in the city,[4] as zoning rules forbid skyscrapers in the area.[citation needed] There are few mansions remaining which are protected byINBA, therefore large building projects cannot be undertaken like the ones inLomas de Chapultepec, orSanta Fe, two areas which have an edge on attracting new inhabitants. Ruben Darío Avenue, facing Chapultepec Park, and Campos Eliseos Avenue are two of the most expensive streets in Mexico City, with apartments ranging up to US$15 million.
Polanco consists of five officially recognizedcolonias, called "Polanco I Sección", "Polanco II Sección", "Polanco III Sección", "Polanco IV Sección", and "Polanco V Sección".[5]
The borders of Polanco are:[5]
Formerly Polanco contained ninecolonias whose names were: Bosque de Chapultepec, Bosque de Chapultepec Polanco, Chapultepec Morales, Chapultepec Polanco, Los Morales - Sección Palmas, Los Morales - Sección Alameda, Polanco Reforma, Polanco Chapultepec, and Rincón del Bosque.[6]
Nuevo Polanco is an area bordering Polanco to the north across Avenida Ejercito Nacional. It contains theAntara Polanco andPlaza Carso shopping malls, theMuseo Soumaya andMuseo Jumex, establishments which are sometimes incorrectly reported as being in the Polanco neighborhood.
The population of Polanco is 27,322, distributed as follows across thecolonias:[7]
Polanco enjoyed a construction boom in the 1940s, when large single-family residences were built. The architectural style of most of these buildings was "Colonial Californiano", inspired by theMission Revival Style in theSouthwestern United States, with pseudo-baroquequarry windows, front-side gardens and inside halls. Some of these mansions have been renovated and converted into businesses and restaurants; many others have simply been torn down and replaced with new buildings.
Notable restaurants in Polanco includePujol,Biko,Nobu,Morimoto, andMr. Chow.
Frequently named as the best restaurant in Mexico, in 2022 Pujol ranked 5th inThe World's 50 Best Restaurants.[8]
Part of the city's iconic park,Chapultepec, falls within Polanco's borders.
Parque Lincoln is the neighborhood park most associated with Polanco. The park's clock tower has become a symbol of Polanco.
Other parks in Polanco are the smallerParque América, Parque Machado and thePlaza Uruguay.
The most important cultural institution located in the neighborhood is theNational Museum of Anthropology, located in the area of Chapultepec Park that is officially part of Polanco.
Other institutions located in Polanco include theMuseo Tamayo (in Chapultepec) and theSala de Arte Público Siqueiros (highlighting the work ofDavid Alfaro Siqueiros).
The address of theCampo Marte, a venue under the administration of theSecretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) is in Polanco. AField of Mars, it is used for military and government events, as well as equestrian events.
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In addition to the above-mentioned shopping and dining, Polanco andNuevo Polanco together are one of the primary areas for Class A office space in the city and metro area. As of 2017 Polanco was the second fastest-growing area of new construction of office space.[9] Samsung, Coca-Cola, Visa, GM, Nestlé, Telmex/Grupo Carso and many more multinationals have their headquarters in the middle of Polanco.
The highest-priced street and the one with the most upscale boutiques inLatin America,[10] it is compared by some toBeverly Hills'Rodeo Drive orNew York City'sFifth Avenue.[10] The Avenue was named by PresidentLázaro Cárdenas in honor ofTomáš Masaryk, the firstPresident ofCzechoslovakia.
Shops includeLouis Vuitton,Cartier,Chanel,Corneliani,Salvatore Ferragamo,Tiffany & Co., DKNY,Ermenegildo Zegna,Brioni,Burberry,Bulgari,Chopard,Gucci,Hermès,Frette,Marc Jacobs,Max Mara,Hugo Boss,Rolex, Jaeger Le Coultre, Galerias Tehran, and Berger Joyeros.[11]
Measuring 55,248 m2, the largest department store in Latin America is the flagshipPalacio de Hierro Polanco,[12] designed byJavier Sordo Madaleno.[13]
Polanco also has a freestandingLiverpool department store, which at 37,000 m2 is thelargest in the chain.
There is aSears in the Pabellón Polanco mall. The defunctParís-Londres had a branch in Polanco at Horacio 203,[14] now anInnovasport superstore,[15] as didSaks Fifth Avenuefrom 2010 to 2020.
Shopping centers include:
Four other large shopping centers are located across the street from the northern edge of Polanco:Antara,Plaza Carso,Miyana and Centro Comercial Polanco.
Polanco is bordered on the west by theAnillo Periférico ring road and theAvenida Río San Joaquín freeway is just to the north, connecting the Periférico via Polanco to central Mexico City. Main east-west thoroughfares include (south to north:)Paseo de la Reforma,Avenida Presidente Masaryk, Ave. Horacio, Ave. Homero, and Ave. Ejercito Nacional. Main north-south thoroughfares include (east to west): General Mariano Escobedo, Molière, Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca and Juan Vásquez Mella.
Polanco is served by thePolanco andAuditorio stations of theMexico City metro (subway). The western terminus of the double decker buses of the Reforma line of theMetrobús (bus rapid transit) is in Polanco.Peseros (minibuses),city buses and trolleybuses ply numerous streets in Polanco continuing to and from other parts of the city.
Schools in Polanco include:
The mansion ofThe Exterminating Angel, the main setting of the 1962Luis Buñuel film, is in Polanco.[19] The address of the building is on Homero Avenue (formerly Rocafuerte Avenue), although it is no longer visible from street level as the mansion's former gardens are now occupied byhigh rise buildings.[19]
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