Paseo de la Reforma

This wide avenue running in a straight line cutting diagonally across the city was built on the orders of Emperor Maximilian in the 1860s, and was originally called "The Emperor's Avenue". It runs from Chapultepec, through the swank Zona Rosa, to the center of the city. More modern extensions called "New Reforma" continue the avenue at an angle to the old Paseo.

Monuments Many monuments to people and events in Mexico's history and the history of the Americas are situated in and beside the Paseo. People so honored include the "Boy Heros" of the Battle of Chapultepec (with a particularly grand monument), Benito Juarez, Cuautemoc, Simon Bolivar, Abraham Lincoln, and Christopher Columbus. There is also a monument to the nationalization of Mexico's Petroleum in 1938, and a statue of the Goddess Diana from Roman mythology.

One the most famous monuments of the Paseo is a tall pillar surmounted with a gilded statue of an angel, built to commemorate the centennial of Mexico's independence in 1910; the base contains the tombs of several key figures in Mexico's war of independence.

Near the central end of the Paseo is the Monument to the Revolution. This is an enormous dome supported by 4 arches. This was originally part of an huge palace that was being built by Mexican dictator Porfirio Diaz; after his overthrow it became a monument to the revolution that deposed him. The remains of Francisco Madero and several other heros of the Revolution are entombed here.