Plazuela Hidalgo, now Plazuela de los Leones
Plazuela Hidalgo, also known as Plazuela de los Leones, is the oldest square in Mazatlán and housed the city's first market. The square was owned by a Filipino of the same name at least since 1835. In 1855, the French consul in Mazatlán, Philippe Martinet, described the square: "In the center of the city is a market whose four sides are occupied by tent-shaped roofs; in the middle, there is an uncovered square."
It is the oldest square in Mazatlán and the location of the city's first market.
It is the oldest square in Mazatlán and the location of the city's first market.
During the French occupation of the city in 1865, this market-square was moved to what is now Plazuela República. Later, a statue of Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, brought from Italy, was placed in the square. Subsequently, in 1899, it was replaced by an Art Nouveau-style kiosk, to which lions were added in the 1920s, giving it its nickname. Finally, the kiosk was removed in 1970 to build the current Manuel Bonilla and Benjamin Franklin libraries.
Did you know?
It is named like this because of the lion statues guarding the current libraries located in the center of the square.
📍 Location
Gral. Ángel Flores Street, Downtown, 82000 Mazatlán, Sinaloa.
