The Torre Latinoamericana () is a skyscraper in downtown Mexico City. Its central location, height (), and history make it one of the city's most important landmarks. whereas several other structures in the downtown area were damaged.

The Torre Latinoamericana was Mexico's tallest completed building for almost 27 years,

Construction

160px|thumb|left|The Torre Latinoamericana's [[Antenna (radio)|antenna]]

Many think it was the first skyscraper in Mexico. However, skyscrapers may have first appeared in Mexico City between 1910 and 1935. The tallest of the time, the International Capital Building (Edificio Internacional de Capitalización) was completed in 1935. This building was surpassed by the Edificio Miguel E. Abed, which, in turn, was surpassed by the Latinoamericana Tower. The Latinoamericana Tower opened its doors on April 30, 1956.

The Torre Latinoamericana was built on the place which was formerly occupied by the animal house, some kind of zoo of the Tlatoani Mexica Moctezuma II. After the conquest, there was built Convent of San Francisco. Later, the monastery was disbanded and most of its property confiscated.

The Torre Latinoamericana was built to headquarter La Latinoamericana, Seguros, S.A., an insurance company founded on April 30, 1906. The building took its name from this company as it began to be built during the postwar boom of the late 1940s, which lasted until the early 1970s. At the time of its construction, the insurance company was controlled by the Mexican tycoon Miguel S. Macedo, who headed one of Mexico's largest financial consortiums at the time.

Originally the insurance company occupied a smaller building at the same location. In 1947 it temporarily relocated to a nearby office while the tower was built. Once it was finished in 1956, the insurance company moved into the tower's 4th to 8th floors. The rest of the building's office space was for lease. At the time of its completion the Torre Latinoamericana was the 45th tallest building in the world. It was also the tallest building in Latin America, and the fourth in height in the world outside New York. Its public observation deck on the 44th floor is the highest in Mexico City.

  • The tower can be briefly seen from inside a helicopter during the beginning of Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.
  • It's also featured prominently in Alfonso Cuarón's Sólo con tu pareja.
  • As a fixture of the Mexico City skyline, the tower also appears in the opening scene of Alejandro González Iñárritu's Amores Perros.
  • The tower is seen in Spectre (2015) after James Bond hijacks a helicopter by killing a hired assassin and the pilot.

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File:Zócalo del DF desde la Torre Latinoamericana.JPG|View of Mexico City with Plaza de la Constitución in centre

File:Ciudad de México (CDMX) - Palacio de Bellas Artes, Torre Latinoamericana y Edificio La Nacional.jpg | View from Palacio de Bellas Artes

File:Avenida Francisco I. Madero, Centro Histórico, Ciudad de México - Torre Latinoamericana.jpg|View of the tower from Madero Street, 2020

File:Torre Latino amancer BUENA CALIDAD.jpg|View from Juarez Avenue

File:Torre Latinoamericana from Alameda Central promenade.jpg|View from Alameda Central

File:Queriendo alcanzar la torre - panoramio.jpg|View from street level.

File:Vuelo de giro en torno a la Torre Latinoamericana.webm|Drone flight circling the tower.

</gallery>

Panoramic view

See also

  • List of tallest buildings in Mexico City

References

  • Photos from the top of Torre Latinamericana