Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico - A Ceiling of Glass

A stop on Mexico City: Centro Historico Walk, a free self-guided tour.

Slip into the lobby and look straight up. Above you spreads a vast stained-glass canopy, a glowing Art Nouveau ceiling designed by the French glass artist Jacques Gruber. Visitors often call it Tiffany glass; it is not, but it is every bit as dazzling.

The building opened in 1899 as the Centro Mercantil, a grand department store built for a wealthy merchant during the long rule of Porfirio Diaz, when the capital's elite looked to Paris for style. That explains the ornate iron cage elevators and the curving balconies that ring the open atrium like the tiers of an opera house. The store became a hotel in 1968, and the ceiling and elevators, both original to the building, came through the change.

This is a working hotel, so be quiet and respectful of guests as you look around. Notice how the colors shift with the daylight and the clouds outside, and how the ironwork curls like vines to match the glass above.

Getting here: Cross to the west side of the Zocalo and turn onto Avenida 16 de Septiembre; the hotel entrance is a few steps along.

Did you know?: The Centro Mercantil was built for Jose de Teresa, a merchant who also served as Mexico's ambassador to Austria.

Photo op: Stand in the middle of the lobby floor and shoot straight up to capture the whole canopy framed by the balconies.

More on Wikipedia: Old Portal de Mercaderes · Jacques Gruber

Gran Hotel Ciudad de Mexico - A Ceiling of Glass

Stops on this tour