The Monument to the Revolution was constructed using part of the structure that was previously destined to be the Legislative Palace. This last building was promoted by President Porfirio Díaz and his government, which in 1897, emitted an international call for the making of this project: the future seat of the House of Representatives. Outstanding architects of the time participated in this competition, one of them being Adamo Boari, who would later build the Mail Palace and the Palace of Fine Arts. After a very unclear and troublesome selection process, the project was handed over to the French architect Emile Bernard. The first stone of this building was placed on September 23^rd 1910 by the president himself. After a remarkable progress in the building’s steel structure, the construction of the Legislative Palace was suspended because of a lack of resources consequence of the revolutionary struggles.

The structure of what was to become one of the most sumptuous buildings in the city remained unused for several years; because of this, the structure started to be dismantled and the complete demolition of the building became a real possibility. To stop this, the Mexican architect Carlos Obregón Santacilia proposed to the Secretary of Inland Revenue, Alberto J. Pani, to make the best of this structure (the cupola of the Legislative Palace) and erect a monument to the freshly concluded Mexican Revolution. The proposal was accepted and its construction took place between 1933 and 1938.

This monument stands out by its massiveness and geometric shape that take us back to prehispanic architecture; nevertheless it’s also a faithful representative of one of the architectonic styles of the time: Art Deco, which becomes present in the sculptural groups perched on the copper cupola of the monument, which were created by the artist Oliverio Martínez and represent: the Independence, the Reformation Laws, the Agrarian Laws and the Worker Laws. Other elements with a clear Art Deco influence are the lamps which hang to the sides of the monument.

Years after its completion, this monument was also turned into a mausoleum which houses the remains of some of the main protagonists of the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Francisco Villa, Plutarco Elías Cales and Lázaro Cárdenas. Also, since 1986, this monument’s basement houses the Revolutionary Museum.

Today, in the museum and the great open space which surrounds it (Plaza of the Republic), several cultural activities take place, of which the Tecnogeist stands out, one of the most important festivals of electronic music and multimedia art in the American continent.