What is the history of 47th Street in Mérida’s Centro? Controversies and stories surround this street, waiting to become a gastronomic corridor in the heart of the state capital.
Calle 47 in Mérida’s Centro has been transformed with the passage of time. It is now waiting to officially become a gastronomic corridor that will connect Paseo de Montejo with the Gran Parque La Plancha.
However, its history goes back to the times when it was called Séptima Norte, according to the 1865 map of Mérida, in which 60th Street was called Progreso and 61st Street, Central. According to the 1902 cadastral blueprint of the city, where there were 197 properties on that street, “mostly houses mampostería with thatched roofs, although there were also masonry or wood,” explains historian Leonor Reyes Pavón.
It is also the starting point of the city’s growth in the north. In 1888 the first stone was laid for what is now Paseo de Montejo, at 47th and 56th Avenue-A. And there it stayed. It took about 10 years for the project to be resumed. It was even thought that it would not be completed.
Finally, it was Governor Francisco Cantón Rosado who followed up on the work, which was completed in 1904. And it was so unbelievable that “a branch of the tramway to Itzimná took part in the promenade when it should not,” says Sergio Ceballos Castillo, author of the blog “Mérida en la Historia” (Mérida in history).
“La 47 has this look that has to be done by layers of the city. We see some large houses with remarkable fronts and even the gas station (58th and 47th) is a work of Manuel Amabilis, this famous architect who worked on the Ateneo Peninsular and the Parque de Las Americas, among many other works of the mid-20th century.”
“If we walk around, we can see and read about the different construction stages of the city and the architectural styles that emerged at different times in the 20th century,” adds the researcher.
Today, 47th Street in Mérida’s Centro, from Paseo de Montejo to 48th Street in “La Plancha”, has a variety of restaurants, several of them with signature cuisine and in places whose decoration and concept make them “Instagrammable”, such as Catrín which is a very Mexican cantina.
Asian and Mexican food, breakfasts, lunches and elegant dinners are part of what you can find there. Another part of the renovated mansions are now boutique hotels or accommodations that can be rented through digital platforms. The gastronomic corridor will arrive in this context.
According to preliminary data released by the Mérida City Hall in early July, after Congress approved the acquisition of a loan, the works will include the rehabilitation of 47th Street, from Montejo “remate” to 46th Street in La Plancha, where they will widen the sidewalks, leave one lane of vehicular traffic, build parking bays where there are houses, subway wiring and other urban furniture.
References:
Rubio, J. R. (2022, octubre 2). La calle 47 del centro de Mérida: historias de la vía que se convertirá en corredor gastronómico. Diario de Yucatán. https://www.yucatan.com.mx/central-9/2022/10/2/la-calle-47-del-centro-de-merida-historias-de-la-via-que-se-convertira-en-corredor-gastronomico-350242.html
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