Plaza de las Tres Culturas

Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Mexico City is a public square that juxtaposes pre-Hispanic, colonial and modern urban elements in a single site. It is located in the Tlatelolco neighborhood and is notable for visible Aztec-era archaeological remains, a colonial church and 20th-century housing blocks.

Within the plaza visitors encounter excavated foundations and platforms from the Aztec city of Tlatelolco, the 16th-century Church of Santiago de Tlatelolco, and modernist residential buildings and plazas constructed in the mid-20th century. The combination of these three layers is the defining reason people visit the site.

The pre-Hispanic center dates to the Aztec period and later became the focus of Spanish colonial settlement and church-building in the 16th century. In the 20th century the area was redeveloped with large housing projects and public spaces; the plaza gained additional significance following the events of 1968, when a large student protest and subsequent crackdown occurred nearby.

The plaza sits within the Tlatelolco district in the Cuauhtémoc borough of central Mexico City, adjacent to major avenues and served by metro and surface transit; it is inside Mexico City proper.

• Three historical layers: The plaza demonstrates three historical layers in a compact area: pre-Hispanic ruins, a colonial church, and mid-20th-century housing and memorials.
• 1968 memorial: The site is a focal point for remembrance of the 1968 Tlatelolco events and contains commemorative plaques and a memorial area.

What to See #

• Tlatelolco archaeological site: Pre-Hispanic archaeological remains of Tlatelolco include foundations and platforms from a pre-Columbian urban center excavated in the plaza area.
• Church of Santiago de Tlatelolco: The Church of Santiago de Tlatelolco is a colonial-era church built in the 16th century that fronts the plaza and represents the colonial layer of the site.
• Modern complex and memorial: The Tlatelolco housing complex and the 20th-century memorial are modern elements on the plaza; the site is closely associated with the 1968 Tlatelolco events and includes a memorial space.