Parque Xotepingo, Cd. Ciudad Jardín

The Parque Xotepingo is the historic central garden and park in Ciudad Jardín, Coyoacán. It runs, with a few different names, throughout most of the most of the neighborhood and depending on who’s telling the story, it may be the most important part of the neighborhood.

In 2018 the park received its nearly iconic statue, a fountain around hands raised to receive a heart. Residents will likely point to the outdoor theater or the dog run as favorite installations.

Ciudad Jardin came to be as a planned residential development for workers tending the waterworks that moved water from Xochimilco Lake to the rest of the City. Historically, this had flowed along the Xochimilco Aqueduct down the Avenida Division del Norte. With the 20th century, more modern plumbing and pumping methods required an industrial approach to water management.

The waterworks at the southwestern end of the park still provide a center to the neighborhood. It’s the central point of the planned linear park layout. At the northeastern end of the central park is, of course, the Ciudad Jardín Light Rail Station.

Today’s park is beloved by residents. It’s also called Parque Ciudad Jardín and Parque Las Bombas at the southeastern end of the neighborhood. International visitors will want to see the residential architecture. Much of it is heavily dated to the late 1940s when the development began. Of course, the 1969 church is a masterpiece of modernist architecture, but as such, it’s NOT the center of the neighborhood. The Xotepingo market, right next door, is actually older than the church.

The Parque Xotepingo is one big reason visitors don’t mind crossing the entire neighborhood. It’s a pleasant walk at any time of year. On the western side is the historic neighborhood of La Candelaria one of seven original settlements in Coyoacán.