Monumento Revolucion, Mexico City

The Monumento a la Revolución (Monument to the Revolution) is a strange architectural landmark which appears to be the combination of two distinct buildings. The massive copper domed roof is that of a grand church which is supported 57m in the air by four huge solid art deco legs.

The monument celebrates and remembers the heroes of the Mexican revolution that rage during the 1910s. The coffins of these heroes were exhumed from their original burial locations and relocated to the crypts below the Monumento a la Revolución , which now acts as a Mausoleum for them.

Though the Monumento Revolucion is unique, neither the domed roof or the supports seems as if it was designed to be with the other section. This is true as the roof is the only completed section from an adventurous building project. The copper dome and upper sections of the monument were constructed to be the central focal point of a vast central government offices complex to be called the Federal Legislative Palace but the remainder of the building was never completed.

The first symbolic stone of the Federal Legislative Palace was laid on 23 September 1910 by the president Diaz but his vision was never to be built. The ageing president died soon afterwards leading to almost 10 years of political instability and almost civil war described as the Mexican Revolution. The funds provided to build the Federal Legislative Palace were taken to pay for the army and the only section to be completed was the central domed main chamber. The original design was to have three wings extending from this main chamber with the domed roof towering above the complex.

All that remained after the 10 years of revolution was a beautifully constructed domed roof supported by four massive steel and concrete supports. The incomplete building was left to stand for decades as an eyesore in the centre of Mexico City and a reminder of the turbulent past and poor economic position of Mexico the early half of the the 21st-century. It was even considered to dismantle the entire the dismal structure which impassioned patriotic Mexicans which lead a resurgence for the restoration of the monument.

By the mid 1930s the government and allocated funding for the transformation of the redundant building into a public monument to celebrate the years of revolution. A process to submit proposals and designs to the Mexican government by architects from around the world was initiated but the selection process was marred by corruption and underhand dealings. The restoration project was finally awarded to French architect Emile Benard whose design blended the original structure with art deco elements. The construction period started in 1933 and the monument was finally inaugurated in 1938.

The Monumento a la Revolución underwent a massive restoration project in 2010 which almost coincided with the centenary of the first foundation stone. The project was completed in November 2010 and was reopened as part of the centenary celebrations of the Mexican revolution.

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