In 2003 the Pro Bosque de Chapultepec Trust Fund was created by citizens and entrepreneurs concerned with the deterioration of El Bosque de Chapultepec. Partnered with the Mexico City Government, they devised rescue and conservation efforts to save this beautiful space. The Citizen Guiding Council was also established, and with the help of a Master Plan, these three parties began working together towards El Bosque´s recovery.
For the past 19 years, we have raised over 595 million pesos that have been allocated to different rehabilitation and rescue projects within the First and Second Section of El Bosque de Chapultepec.
The involvement of Mexican and foreign companies, as well as the altruistic contributions of the public that share a genuine love for El Bosque de Chapultepec, have been critical in this preservation adventure.
The rehabilitation of El Bosque de Chapultepec’s First Section took place between 2004 and 2007 under the leadership of architect Mario Schjetnan. Harmful fauna was contained, a forest sanitation was carried out, lakes and canals were rigorously cleaned up, urban concentration points were dispersed, and several areas of El Bosque de Chapultepec were remodeled, such as museums, passageways, and others.
At this stage, Chapultepec’s Second Section Master Plan was implemented. A complete environmental sanitation was conducted, the athletic track known as “El Sope”, and the kid’s playground “La Tapatía” were renovated, The Jardín del Agua Museum was established and the fountain system was improved.
In 2013 architect Mario Schjetnan moved forward with the Second Section Master Plan. Mobility axes were rearranged as well as street vendors and service facilities. The Paseo de los Compositores, and the Xochipilli and Mito del Agua fountains were also rehabilitated and The Constituyentes Skatepark was built.
On-Site Museum and Visitor Center
This new cultural venue is made up of two areas distributed over an area of 300 square meters: the historic nineteenth-century building, which previously served as the entrance to the old Chapultepec Military College, was rehabilitated and redesigned with a double purpose; to house n On-Site Museum and a Visitors Center with the objective that visitors and users can learn about the historical, biological and cultural richness of the Chapultepec Park.
The On-Site Museum shows the history of Chapultepec through a museography (developed by the firm Siete Colores e Ideas Creativas), which includes four major periods of the Park:
1. Pre-Hispanic Chapultepec
2. Colonial Chapultepec
3. Chapultepec from the 19th century
4. Chapultepec of the 20th century
On the other hand, the Visitor Center has technological mechanisms designed to find out what the interests of the public are, in order to offer viable and useful alternatives, to plan your visit to Chapultepec based on your interests and times.
In August 2019, the Chapultepec Park was internationally recognized for its beauty and significance to the lives of urbanities, receiving the gold medal for International Large Urban Parks awarded by the World Urban Parks Organization.
During this period we faced the COVID -19 pandemic, in which the Park had to close its doors for a while. In the same way, the projects of the Pro Bosque de Chapultepec Trust were paused for a while. However, during that period, the rehabilitation work of Lomas Park was completed, the Fountain of Don Quixote was fully restored, and the book Chapultepec Park: Sacred and Natural Site of Mexico was published.
