2. Edificio El Moro

After La Nacional, plans for an even taller Art Deco skyscraper were launched by the National Lottery. Construction started on the 22-story Edificio El Moro in 1934, though it was not completed until 1946. Its design, including further advances in earthquake resistance, is credited to engineer José Antonio Cuevas although some sources indicate Manuel Ortiz Monasterio was also involved.

This building is located just outside the Historic Center and stands prominently at the start of Mexico City’s grand boulevard, El Paseo de La Reforma. Exterior restorations in 2011 recaptured the original Art Deco stepped verticality, removing a dark-mirrored facade on the side wings that had been added as an “improvement” in the 1970s.

Facade decoration includes a spherical lottery machine and balls sculpture above the entrance. Nearby there are bronze relief panels of Fortuna, the Roman goddess of luck, by artist Federico Cantú. Although they look as if they date from the Deco era, they were added during the 1970s. Currently, the National Lottery is restoring Art Deco interior details and repairing minor damage from the 2017 earthquake.