Urban Tales › Mexico City › Monument to the Revolution

Monument to the Revolution: the history, and the parliament that never was

It started as the dome of a grand parliament for Porfirio Díaz, was abandoned when the Revolution broke out, and became the Revolution's monument. Here's what you're looking at.

Monument to the Revolution, Mexico City
Photo: Carlos Valenzuela · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Begun1910
Completed1938
ArchitectC. Obregón Santacilia
Height≈ 67 m
Hear the Monument to the Revolution story, in the app's voice
A short preview. The full story plays on its own when you walk up to it with Urban Tales.
App StoreGoogle PlayFree to start · 5 languages

Three stories most visitors miss

1

The parliament that never was

Porfirio Díaz commissioned a Legislative Palace from French architect Émile Bénard. Work had barely begun when the Revolution broke out in 1910, and the steel skeleton of its dome stood abandoned for years.

2

Heroes in the pillars

Carlos Obregón Santacilia turned the dome into a monument completed in 1938. Its pillars hold the remains of Madero, Carranza, Villa, Calles and Cárdenas.

3

A glass ride to the top

A glass elevator rises through the center of the monument to a lookout under the dome, with views along Paseo de la Reforma.

TipRide the glass elevator up to the lookout at sunset, then visit the National Museum of the Revolution underneath. With Urban Tales running, the monument's story plays as you reach Plaza de la República.

Nearby landmarks

Monument to the Revolution: common questions

Can you go up the Monument to the Revolution?

Yes, a glass elevator takes visitors to a lookout under the dome.

Who is buried in the Monument to the Revolution?

Francisco I. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Villa, Plutarco Elías Calles and Lázaro Cárdenas.

Why was the Monument to the Revolution built?

It reused the abandoned structure of Porfirio Díaz's Legislative Palace to honor the Revolution.