Postcard from Merida, Mexico: Along Paseo de Montejo

Above: Crumbling stucco lends a painterly appearance to a row of balconied apartments off Paseo de Montejo.

The wide boulevard of Paseo de Montejo invites ambling with its row of elegant residences, in varying condition, built during Merida’s henequen boom (see earlier post on La Quinta Montes Molina). The street really comes to life when it is closed to automobile traffic on some weekends to allow what seems like all the families in Merida to safely hop upon their bicycles.

Palacio Canton was completed more than a century ago for General Francisco Canton Rosado (1833-1917), a governor of Yucatan who owned profitable henequen haciendas and railroads during the Porfiriato period. Now the building houses the Regional Museum of Anthropology, showcasing a collection of Mayan artifacts, including some from Mayapan (earlier post).