Parque de los Venados, Francisco Villa Park

The Parque de los Venados is a park known, colloquially, for the deer statues in two its fountains. It’s one of the biggest parks in the City, originally laid out in 1952 and 1953 at 94,000 square meters. This was the result of the final subdivisions being made to the Portales area to the east.

Once the site of a brickyard, like the famous Parque Hundido, this park only finally opened in 1957. It’s divided into 18 gardens by meandering walkways. The park is also home to the Joaquín Gallo Planetarium and the Hermanos Soler Theater. The center of the park is a small amusement park with mechanical rides and games.  The fair has been part of the park since the park opened.

The Parque de los Venados is also home to some 2,682 trees from 39 different species. Directly to the west is the Sefton or Benito Juárez park. This is the outdoor area of the Alcaldía Benito Juárez government complex which is just a little further west still.

Francisco Villa

The giant equestrian statue from which the park derives its name was moved here in 1980. Cast in bronze, it’s the work of artist, Julián Martínez Soto. The Francisco Villa monument had stood at the Glorieta Riviera, the very confusing confluence of the Avenidas Universidad, División del Norte and Cuauhtémoc. Today it’s the site of Metro División del Norte. In fact, the sculpture was moved to make room for the Metro. The now very busy traffic roundabout is about 6 blocks northwest along División del Norte.

While the park is very popular with the local government workers, it’s also the neighborhood for most of the Portales area. With an extensive dog-run, and one of the biggest playgrounds in the City, it’s a very popular weekend destination. And it’s one of very few City parks with a dedicated Metro station.