File:Architect and engineer (1933) (14595088530).jpg

Identifier: architectenginee11534sanf (find matches)
Title: Architect and engineer
Year: 1905 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Architecture Architecture Architecture Building
Publisher: San Francisco : Architect and Engineer, Inc
Contributing Library: San Francisco Public Library
Digitizing Sponsor: San Francisco Public Library

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They are the descendants of the originalT was not until the begin- Spaniards who built the city after the con-ning of the year 1930 that I was enabled quest of 1542 A.D.to undertake my first expedition into Yuca- Merida is partially built of the stonestan. The event was the culmination of a which formed the original Maya city ofseven-year dream. TlHO, and occupies the same site. Its pres- Leaving New Orleans one fog-bound ent inhabitants are known as Yucatecans.night we slowly made our way through the The city is remarkable for its extremeMississippi delta. The mournful sound of cleanliness. The people retain, in a great lumerous fog-horns.as we slowly creptthrough the eeriesurroundings, addeda piquancy to theunknown ahead. Itseemed indicative otthe great adventurew^hich awaited me. Then, Progresso! This, Yucatansonly port, is but ashort journey fromMerida, the capitalof the Province otYucatan. The city of Mer-ida, the only centerwhere so - calledwhites live, boastsa population of ap-
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measure, all the old-world charm andgrace of 16th cen-tury Spain. On thefringe of the city liveMestizos, half castesclaiming a mixtureof Maya and Span-iard blood. Beyond, south,east and w^est likefingers of an out-spread hand, aretrails connectingscores of nativeMaya pueblos or vil-lages. The inhabi-tants are direct de-scendants of plebe-ian Maya forefath-ers. Practically pure ^ 29 ► of blood, they speak the language of theirdistinguished ancestors, but can neitherread nor write that ancient tongue. Between these outspread-finger trails,and extending far to the south, east andwest, is the impenetrable jungle. Chichen-ItzaCompleting the necessary arrangementsin Merida. I set forth before dawn one To indicate something of the importanceand meaning of Maya structures, a briefdescription of one will prove helpful. The Castillo or Great Pyramid, as anexample, is an amazing structure. It is ap-proximately 200 feet square at the base,81 feet to the platform level. On the latter,which is 60

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