Basurto Building
Rising fourteen storeys above Avenida México, this post-Art Deco tower by Francisco J. Serrano remains the tallest silhouette in the Condesa skyline of its era.
At a glance
The Basurto Building is a residential tower in Condesa, built between 1940 and 1945 by architect Francisco J. Serrano. Its scale was unusual for the neighborhood at the time. Fourteen floors set it apart from the low-rise apartment blocks surrounding it. That height alone made it an instant landmark.
History
Condesa developed through the 1920s and 1930s as one of Mexico City’s first planned residential districts, laid out around curving avenues and green spaces. Into this low-slung fabric, Serrano introduced a structure of a different order. Construction ran through the war years, from 1940 to 1945. The result broke sharply with the neighborhood’s established scale. It quickly became a reference point for the area, its profile visible from the surrounding streets.
What you see
The building’s design sits at the tail end of Art Deco, absorbing the style’s geometric discipline while pointing toward later modernist simplicity. Fourteen storeys stack above the avenue in a vertical mass rare for Condesa’s low apartment rows. The height itself is the dominant architectural statement. Seen from Parque México, it punctuates the tree line abruptly. Up close, the tower’s presence on Avenida México still reads as deliberately outsized.
Cultural significance
The Basurto Building functions as an emblem of Condesa, a shorthand image for the district’s character. Its unusual verticality gave the neighborhood a visual anchor that smaller buildings could not provide. For residents and visitors alike, it marks the transition between Parque México to the south and Plaza Popocatépetl to the north. Few buildings from that period carry the same recognition locally.
Key facts
- Location: Avenida México, Condesa, Mexico City
- Architect: Francisco J. Serrano
- Built: 1940–1945
- Style: Post-Art Deco
- Height: Fourteen storeys
- Coordinates: 19.413794, -99.1697794
Practical information & getting there
The building sits in the heart of Condesa, half a block from Parque México. Plaza Popocatépetl lies just to the north. You can reach the area on foot from the Chilpancingo or Sevilla metro stations, both a short walk away. As a private residential building, its interior is not open to the public, but the exterior and streetscape reward a slow walk along Avenida México.
Sources & resources
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