San Luis Potosí was founded in 1592 by miners. The city was named after the famous mining town of Potosí in modern-day Bolivia. SLP's center is home to some of the finest colonial architecture in all of Mexico.
For example...
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The historic streets look fun to walk around in.
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A little bit farther out of the colonial (and UNESCO-listed) center, things still look pretty nice:
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Farther out, and not as nice (notice the width of the street here)...
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Now we're on the far eastern edge of town, and the streets look desolate.
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Let's go back to where the people are:
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Look at the lady mopping the street here. This street is treated like a hallway inside of someone's house! When's the last time you've seen someone cleaning the street with a mop like that?
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So there's a taste of San Luis Potosí. Next up in this series is the historic Gulf town of Campeche.
Thanks for these Mexican city tours. I love how streetview, in addition to showing the buildings themselves, provides these snapshots of everyday street life such as the woman mopping the sidewalk (an image that right away communicates the greater affinity of Mexican cities to those of southern Europe rather than the ones north of the border).
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, too, how even in the fringe suburban areas you've shown, attached buildings with little or no setback are the norm. You may notice as you continue to explore how some of the new townhouse developments are built very plainly with slight setbacks in apparent expectation that the new owners will built their own custom addition and facade into the setback area.
Thanks for the comment! I think it's pretty fascinating to see, through streetview, the huge cultural differences between Mexico and the U.S. regarding cities and urban life. Mexico is a treasure trove of cities with "old" urbanism influences, and it is nice to know that traditional cities aren't limited to the other side of the Atlantic.
ReplyDeleteLovely!! Back when I lived in Japan, I would see people cleaning the streets as well, usually first thing in the morning before too many people showed up. The city as a shared home, with buildings instead of rooms and streets instead of hallways--this is how it's supposed to work!
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