Esta publicación también está disponible en:
Photos provided.
A new documentary exhibition tracing the evolution of Puerto Vallarta from a quiet port town to a bustling urban center has opened in the central courtyard of City Hall, marking the dual celebration of the city’s 108th anniversary as a municipality and its 58th as a city.
The exhibition, titled “Puerto: Archivo y Memoria” (Port: Archive and Memory), offers visitors a visual journey through the historical layers of the coastal destination. It chronicles its early days as the old port of Las Peñas up through its modern urban, social, and institutional consolidation.
Organizers said the collection emphasizes that Puerto Vallarta’s history lives not only in grand narratives but also in the documentary records that preserve fragments of daily life.
Featured historical pieces on display include an 1874 nautical chart of Las Peñas, an 1897 map of the state of Jalisco, and a 1910 blueprint of the Ixtapa and Colecio haciendas. The exhibition also showcases a 1922 urban expansion plan for Puerto Vallarta, a 1959 warehouse blueprint, and vintage photographs depicting landmarks such as the Saucedo Theater, Hidalgo Park, the Parish of Our Lady of Guadalupe, and panoramic cityscapes from the 1930s.
According to city chronicler and historian Moisés Hernández, alongside municipal archive chief Grace Kelly Ávila, the exhibition aims to reframe the archive as a symbol of presence and permanence. They noted that preserving documents is not merely about accumulating paperwork, but about defending Puerto Vallarta’s ability to recognize its own history amid the passage of time and rapid urban transformation.
The exhibition is free to the public and will remain on display in the City Hall courtyard through June 5, 2026.
Esta publicación también está disponible en:
