Paseo de la Reforma is a wide avenue that runs diagonally across the heart of Mexico City. It was designed at the behest of Emperor Maximilian by Ferdinand von Rosenzweig during the era of the Second Mexican Empire and modeled after the great boulevards of Europe, such as the Ringstraße in Vienna and the Champs-Élysées in Paris. The planned grand avenue was to link the National Palace with the imperial residence, Chapultepec Castle, which was then on the southwestern edge of town. The project was originally named Paseo de la Emperatriz in honor of Maximilian's consort Empress Carlota. After the fall of the Empire and Maximilian's subsequent execution, the Restored Republic renamed the Paseo in honor of the La Reforma.
Paseo de la Reforma as seen from Chapultepec Castle
Paseo de la Reforma skyline
Nivel cero de la Ciudad de México, topographic monument 1875, to mark the path of the Paseo.
Ornate King Charles IV of Spain statue of the Paseo de la Reforma in the 19th century.
Maximilian I was an Austrian archduke who became emperor of the Second Mexican Empire from 10 April 1864 until his execution by the Mexican Republic on 19 June 1867.
Maximilian, c. 1864
Maximilian as a boy, 1838, by Joseph Karl Stieler
Maximilian in uniform, 1853
Maria Amélia of Brazil