Originally built to be the Government Headquarters for the City of Orizaba, Veracruz, Mexico at the end of the XIX Century. Orizaba was at that time, the 5th most important city in the nation and the richest in the State of Veracruz. Considered the most educated and cultured city in the country during President Porfirio Diaz regime. Reason from which, a good number of it's foreign inhabitants migrated to Orizaba to test their luck and furtune(mainly during the last half of the 1800's): French, Swedish, Irish, English, Spaniards, Italians, Americans and Germans established themselves in Orizaba to start a new venture, business or company. This Inmigrant influx brought to the city the taste for the 'international' culture and the latest European trends. On September 26,1891, with the support of the citizenry and the State's Government, Orizaba's Mayor, Sr. Julio M. Velez, gave the order to the Societe Anonyme des Forges D´Aiseau, of Belgium to build an exceptional and unique construction that would represent the modernity and financial status of Orizaba in Mexico. A palace that would showcase Orizaba's International Status. The Belgian company offered the project to the architect with most prestige and fame in Europe, the one that with his most innovative and original techniques could designed such an important building, they called the French-German Engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. Following his great triumph at the Paris Fair in 1889, with the presentation with his famous tower, Eiffel conceived a Palace completely built of metal structure, fully demountable. The cost was in excess of 71, 000 pesos in gold, mainly supported by the granted loan the illustrious philantropist and Orizaba's native did, Sr. Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas. The rest was covered by the State and the Municipality as well. The complete cargo (3369 boxes plus the metallic structure) was shipped to the Port of Vera-cruz from Antwerp in 3 separate steamships: the Paris, the Vala and the Haver. At their arrival to Vera-cruz, the cost of the unloading and transportation to Orizaba's mountains requiered of 10,000 pesos more, wich it was covered, once again, by the city's patron, Sr. Carrilo Tablas. The hi cost of construction propossed by the Belgian company forced the city to employ only the structure's blue-prints to assemble the giant metal palace. The City hired a team of Mexican Architects and specialized workers. The team was commanded by the mexican engineers, Arturo B. Boca (foundations) and Ricardo Segura (construction). The assigned lot was the city's old Army Plaza in between the City Hall and the current Municipal House (present -and out of place- Alvarez Zardain Building). The old trees that embellished the plaza for centuries were transplanted to the Alameda. The grand inauguration was held on the eve of September 16, 1894 along with the festivities of Mexico's Independence. Exactly a year after it's construction had started. Among the famous guests was Sr. Don Teodoro A Dehesa, Governor of the State of Vera-cruz. The Palacio de Hierro (Iron Palace) worked as municipal headquarters for the city for 97 years. In 1991, Architect Isaias Rodriguez Vivas -city's Mayor- gave the executive order to move the government seat to the much larger CEO Palace. Today, the Palacio de Hierro hosts within it's walls the Museums of Beer and Archeology, a Library, a Tourism Office and a Coffee Shop. Lately, the gardens and the sorrounding streets had been remodeled and refurbished by the current Municipal President, Lic. Juan Manuel Diez Francos who has given priority to the cultural and ecological rescue of Orizaba. Because of it's original characteristic -metallic construction-, the Palacio de Hierro requires constant repairs and maintenance. We hope soon we'll be able to enjoy the original beauty of the ONLY demountable metallic Art Nouveau Palace in the World, a true world's Architectural Jewel. The Iron Palace is listed among the 10 most important architectural achievements of Gustave Eiffel, among the Statue of Liberty in New York City and his famous Tower in Paris. Some of his works have been named Cultural Treasures by the countries they belong to.........the beautiful Palacio de Hierro is still waiting for the cultural and historical recognition that it deserves. ORIZABA the Magic City MonjaAlferez09 . (Please, see the attached list of copyright credits in the main page)

Comments

1. I had the chance to visit Orizaba last fall. I too am a descendant of Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas.  My mother is Alicia María Ortega Carrillo de Arenas who is currently in Orizaba.  I always love visiting the beauty of the city and the people are also very welcoming.  Thanks for this video.  The Palace is truly a unique and wonderful building.  I am so glad my great great grandfather did what he did to have Orizaba blessed by the structure and that the city is making good use of the building as a public place for the citizens and visitors. 
2. Por muchos agnos le he pedido al Municipio de Orizaba que se eriga un monumento a la memora de tu abuelo, Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas @Ruy24, pero sin haber obtenido respuesta alguna. Continuare haciendolo para algun dia que se convierta en una realidad. Nadie hizo tanto por Orizaba como lo hizo tu abuelo hace masde 100 agnos. Saludos, MA09 / admin
3. For years I've asked the Municipal Government to erect a statue in honor of your grandfather, Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas @Ruy24, but I had not even gotten any response at all. I will continue working for that to be a reality one day. Nobody had done so much for Orizaba than your grandfather did more than a century ago. Cheers, MA09 / admin
4. No hay mucho interes por el Gobierno para atraer atencion al verdadero origen de nuestro Historico Monumento por los intereses financieros del espacio que ocupa @Ruy24. Por poco pudimos ver una plaza comercial dentro de sus paredes hace algun tiempo, triste pero verdadero. MA09 / admin
5. There's no much interest from the gob to bring attention to the true beginning of our Historical Monument because there are financial interests for the space that occupies @Ruy24. We were about to see a Shopping Mall in his walls sometime ago, sad but true. MA09 / admin
6. hola me llamo erick sandoval y soy de orizaba les mando saludos y siempre serán bien recibidos en mi ciudad orizaba un abrazo desde orizaba ver. mexico
7. Awesome. The last time I spoke to My Mother about the palace she said she was trying to get the city to recognize him with a plaque on the Palace. She will be excited to hear someone is making a Video!! Thank you.
8. I also have a book that I started writing years ago about the life and times of your grandfather and family. Crucial not only for the great development of Orizaba in the XIX century, but for all Mexico as well. Thank so much for being in contact with me, I appreciate the gesture. Happy new year. Cheers, MA09 / admin
9. I' feel honored that one of Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas is a fan of this channel @Ruy24. Your grandfather was an important key for the development and the history of Orizaba. I have a video in the making about your grandfather's legacy in the old city. Stay in touch and you will be the first one to receive this beautiful video.
10. Thank you for posting this Video and the History of this wonderful place. My great great grandfather on my mother side is Sr. Don Manuel Carrillo Tablas. I have yet to visit but was happy to find this Video. Thank you.
11. If you have a chance, look for the orchestrated arrangement that Claude Debussy made for the same piece, it's no less than amazing. Thank you for watching. Cheers, MA09 / admin
12. @7rphillips, it's the famous piece "Gymnopedie No 1" (I: Lent et douloureux) of Eric Satie, of the "Trois Gymnopedies" series. I highly recommend to listen the three, they all are a wonder of the Impressionist Period. Cheers, MA09 / admin
13. Professionally...Not. But, I do love to read and I've been doing it since I was a little kid (started at the age of 4). The history of Orizaba has been one of the passions in my family, therefore I have inherited a very large collection of books related to the History of my hometown. I have read them all and thanks to a good memory is that I can write about the topic. I am glad you're interested in Orizaba, I hope you can visit her soon. You won't regret it. cheers, MA09 / admin
14. @BlueLightGallery. Grazie mille per aver condiviso questo video. Molto belle le opere d'arte (può essere anche riproduzioni di opere d'arte). Ecco un video di un palazzo costruito durante la "Belle Epoque", nel mio piccolo paese in Messico, Orizaba. Risale della stessa epoca..... Saluti modulo di New York, MA09 / administratore
15. pero espero poder lograr terminar 50 antes del fin de agno. Muchos mas vendran en los proximos meses. Estate pendiente de este canal, hay mucho mas que Orizaba necesita compartir con el mundo. Espero tu tambien lo hagas, ya que he estado realizando estos videos para promocionar a la hermosa Orizaba como destino turistico de Mexico. Suerte y gracias por tu comentario. Saludos, MonjaAlferez09 .
16. Thank you megacalucha for watching these videos and of course for your kind comments. Like yourself, I'm a proud son of Orizaba. The name chosen for this page is in memory of one of my childhood heroes (heroines), that's why -the bottom- of the confusion. Si gustas leer las resegnas historicas que he escrito sobre Orizaba y su region, ve ala pagina MonjaAlferez09 y podras encontrar los videos tanto en Espagnol como en Ingles. Hasta ahora 40 son los videos terminados, .......
17. When I started to gatter photographic information about Orizaba, the first name that came to my mind for the tittle of this channel was MONJA ALFEREZ. So there you are, the origins of these Channel's Name is base on a NewSpain -Mexico's Amazon. Thank you for your curiosity..... MonjaAlferez09 .
18. She was a woman ahead of her time. Someone who was not content with the way society treated women in those days, so she created this mythical character, half virgin, half warrior, that fought for her ideals in the benefit of the poor and disadvantage. She died in a fight -for another woman- in the region and was buried in the church of San Juan de Dios in Orizaba in 1650.
19. A man. I know the name must be a little deceiving at first. The translation of MONJA in English is NUN. Confused? Well, when I was little kid my beautiful grandmother told me the story of a local hero -heroine- , the Monja Alferez. A 16th century character who was the answer to the British Robin Hood in Mexico. Someone who used to assault the rich merchant caravans from and to Europe and then share the bounty with the needy and dispossessed of the region; during the day she was a pious nun
20. No problem, anytime. Thanks for keeping track of my videos. Cheers. MonjaAlferez09 .