On the north end of the city, at the terminus of Calzada Independencia, butted against the University of Guadalajara’s art, architecture and design school, sits a plot of land belonging to the city of Guadalajara known as Parque Mirador Independencia. Now, during the rainy season, this space greens, verdant and lively with groups of dragonflies humming from tree to tree. There are other typical park attractions: a basketball court, swing sets, slides and even an amphitheater.
Of course, this particular park’s most notable draw is a spectacular view of Huentitan canyon. From almost anywhere in the park, green peaks form a wide and dramatic backdrop, rising from the other side of the ravine some two or three miles off. In between, the open air struts out over a 1,700 foot drop to the narrow Santiago River below.
This remarkable feature — exploited by several overlooks and a pavilion built into the design of the pedestrian walks — is what also brought the park into the spotlight in the last decade as the site of a proposed Guggenheim museum. The new outlet for the world famous art chain would have perched dramatically at the precipice, surrounded by the lush, rejuvenated Parque Mirador Independencia. The entire ambitious project infamously fell through in 2009. Now, that disappointment has long settled and the city has moved on to Plan B — a generic (and cheaper) art museum.
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