Palacio de Bellas Artes is a stunning theater which was built about 100 years ago. Construction started in 1910 but was disrupted by the country’s revolution and so it wasn’t completed until 1930.
The building is beautiful inside and out but the style of the interior and exterior are very different. The exterior facade is all Italian marble with a neo classical style with European style sculptures, curves and columns but the interior is adamantly art deco with straight lines and symmetrical angles.
In the lobby area there are earth tones and marble everywhere and visually compelling architecture including gorgeous columns which reach up to the intricate concave domes on the ceiling.
The interior of the auditorium is dominated by two striking features. One is the stained glass ceiling with its depictions of Greek mythology. The other is the mind boggling crystal stage curtain designed and constructed by Tiffany & Co. My understanding is that it’s a one of one and nothing else like it exists anywhere else in the world.
The basic goal was to build a curtain that would not pose a hazard in a fire, but what was constructed is a masterpiece of art and engineering. The image of Mexico in the mural isn’t a painting. It’s colored crystal inlayed. Two million individual pieces create the image and it weighs over 24 tons! Though it looks like there are seams, the “curtain” doesn’t fold or collapse. It just goes straight up and is kept in place by counterweights.
Details of the interior of the theater
If you visit Mexico City it’s worth spending an hour or two to visit Palacio de Bellas Artes. There is a museum in the building as well which is located in the and above the foyer but to see the interior of the theater and learn about its history there are free daily tours at 1:00pm. I’d read online that they were only in Spanish but when we arrived we found that they were doing both Spanish and English. Which was much appreciated because the history and details in the tour were fantastic and my Spanish no es tan bueno. Also, the time of the tour was at 1:30. I don’t know if that is the new time or if the day we went was unusual but everything online said 1:00. So you might want to head over early and check.
There is a nice park next door and across the street is the Palacio Postal, another beautiful example of art deco architecture with a cool museum inside. So there is plenty to do in the area.
