Palacio Postal

in 1901, the dirección general de correos (general direction of mail) was made a separate government agency. before, it has been an administrative division of the secretariat of communications and transportation. it was then decided that this function should have its own building, in part due the volume of mail being handled annually at that time, which was about 130 million pieces.[3] the italian architect adamo boardi (1863-1928) was chosen for the project. the design is electric, yet boardi's design pulls the various styles used together. the military engineer gonzalo garita y frontera supervised the construction. the site chosen was the old hospital of terceros franciscanos, which was demolished in 1902. the foundation laid was a new technique called "chicago" consisting of a concrete slab with a thickness of 70 cm reinforced with steel beams. this foundation was mostly constructed in new york, by the millinken brothers and shipped to mexico in 1903. the first stone of the building was placed on 14 september 1902, and work on the building lasted for another five years. in 1907, the building was inaugurated by then president of mexico, porfirio diaz, who, in a symbolic act, dropped two postcards into the receiving bin, one addressed to a location in mexico city, and one addressed to a different locale in the country. for some time after it was built, this palace was also called the quinta casa de correos (fifth house of mail), since it was the fifth building to house postal services in mexico city.[3]