Preistoria

Symbol and emblem of the city of Pachuca, the Monumental clock tower that is located in Plaza Independencia, seat of the ancient historical centre of the town, was erected on the occasion of commemorating the first Centenary of the proclamation of national independence, inaugurating the 11 of the night of September 15, 1910.La history of its constructionYou must go back to the night of January20, 1901, the date on which the rural band, musical ensemble founded by the then State Governor Pedro l. Rodriguez, gives his first audition in a small wooden kiosk located in the North of the square of the proceedings, directed by the skilful baton of maestro Candelario Rivas. Soon that ensemble comes to popularity, winning first places in national competitions and their presence in the Sundayhearings and public events in the square, singular importance.Excited of the fame acquired by the Symphonic Ensemble, a group of distinguished businessmen of the city, headed by Don Alfonso Maria Brito, proposed to the then Governor Pedro l. Rodriguez, the renovation of the square, already by then of independence, in which be built on behalf of merchants and traders mining, a majestic Tower concerts,worthy of the band pachuqueña.Although the project was approved by the State Executive, it was until 1904, when starts construction of instances of Mr. Felipe b. Barros, proxy of various mining companies and director of the company Sn Rafael. Although he had to be suspended a year later for lack of funds.In 1906, Governor Pedro l. Rodriguez, decides to continue the work of the Tower, but now witha different objective, the of the first Centennial of independence. For this purpose I ask the architect Thomas Lamb, design a new project which at the same time to use the foundations already completed for the aforementioned "Tower of concerts", conceived by a monument worthy of "Prime Centenario de la Independencia". The new design was based on the fashion very in vogue to build a clock publicto similarity of the Tower of London Parliament and to make it homogeneous with the context of the square were you conceived within classical forms that Ernesto Flus, had already used in the construction of the Bank of Hidalgo, inaugurated in 1904. While desplantaba the Tower of the new monument, under the supervision of the engineers Luis Carreón and Francisco Hernández, was commissioned to DonJesus Zenil, originating in the Hidalgo town of El Cardonal and who then was as Plenipotentiary Minister of Mexico in Austria-Hungary, acquire a replica of the very fine clock armed machinery in the factory London "Dent" where between 1854 and 1858 had built the innovative design of Edmund Becket Denisona Carillon of pendulum with three pointed star, with twist in each oscillation of the secondhand, used in the Tower of the English Parliament that already received the name of "Big Ben" because of the sound of his treceava campaign. The Carillon and the machinery acquired as soon came to Pachuca, were first deposited in the Temple of the assumption parish, and later in the House of Don Francisco Rule (now Municipal President of Pachuca), where he remained three years to be placed on themonument. The total cost of this monumental Tower totaled the amount of 300 thousand pesos gold approximately; using quarry of the neighbouring town of Tezontle, located in the municipality on Mount Mineral in its construction. The process used in the construction was to base of machihembra lie, technical is drill each block of quarry with a cylindrical hole in the top and sculpt a kind of Spike atthe bottom, so the latter, he embonaba horadada partly unused no calcareous material on the boards; 35 stone masons worked long hours in the first stage and 29 in the second, among the latter, Jacinto and Pedro Hernández Baldovino Lords who were responsible for sculpting the acroteras that Crown the cover clockwise. Great difficulty meant the placement of the Carillon and the copper Dome, for...