Parque España

This guide to Parque España in Mexico City reveals a quiet park's former life as the grand entrance plaza of the Hipódromo de la Condesa, a racetrack built for Mexico's wealthiest during the Porfirian era and opened by President Porfirio Díaz in 1910. It follows the track's abrupt collapse during the Mexican Revolution, its sale into house lots, and the transformation of this plaza into a garden during the 1921 independence centennial. You'll also hear how the surrounding streets still trace the shape of the vanished oval track.