Colonia Buenavista 2.76

Colonia Buenavista is a colonia or neighborhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough located northwest of the historic center of Mexico City. It has historically been a train terminal, and still is as the southern terminal of the Tren Suburbano commuter rail. The colonia is also home to the offices of the Cuautémoc borough and the mega José Vasconcelos Library.DescriptionThe boundaries of the colonia are marked by the following streets: Avenida Puente del Alvarado to the south, Calzada de Nonoalco or Flores Magón to the north, Eje Guerrero to the east and Avenida Insurgentes North to the west.The colonia is best known as a hub of transportation, with the offices of the Cuauhtémoc borough and Telecommunications Commission also located here. Metro Buenavista is located here, near the Mexico City terminal of the Tren Suburbano commuter railway. This train brings workers into the downtown area from as far as the northern city of Cuautitlán in Mexico State.Another landmark is the Vasconcelos Library (Biblioteca Vasconcelos), which is a tall glass building which contrasts noticeably with the surrounding area. It was inaugurated in 2006 with a collection of over 575,000 books, multimedia, and music. It is open to the public with 640 computers, multimedia room, music room, children’s section, Braille material section and film library. The library attracts an average of 3,000 visitors daily.HistoryThe name of the colonia is from a former owner of the lands here, Miguel Pérez de Santa Cruz Andoboya, the Marquis of Buenavista, who was the mayor of Mexico City three times during the 1710s and 1720s. The mansion of the marquis was located in front of the small plaza which is on Avenida Puente de Alvarado, near the current offices of the Institutional Revolutionary Party. This building is now the Museo Nacional de San Carlos. This plaza maintains a number of arches from the Santa Fe Aqueduct, which brought water into the city.