Metro San Antonio Abad

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Metro San Antonio Abad is the first surface level station on Metro Line 2’s turn south after the city center. Conversely, it’s also the last surface level station for those traveling north in the other direction. Either, it’s a station important for a slew of government and judicial buildings, almost like those at Metro Niños Heroes, which is about a 25-minute walk almost directly west. (You’ll cross Metro Line 8 along the way.)

This station takes it’s name from the Calzada San Antonio Abad which is the first leg of the longer Calzada de Tlalpan. The causeway (i.e.; calzada) was named for the old Temple and Hospital of San Antonio Abad. The main building from the 17th century (some parts are from the 16th) is not open to the public. It began as a small hermitage in 1530. Followers of San Antonio took over in 1628, and they started the hospital. Their monastery and hospital lasted until 1789. Thereafter, the building was used as a textile factory. The industry is, even today though in much diminished numbers, prevalent throughout the area.

Saint Anthony Abad (251-356 CE) is considered the founder of the hermitage movement. His followers lead lives of Christian piety with little or no possessions and often almost no contact with the outside world.

• The station sees about 21,000 people pass through every day.
• The station is home to the work, “La historia jamás contada, los hilados” (The story never told, the threads) by the muralist, Ariosto Otero Reyes. Acrylic on panels, it measure nearly five meters by 12 meters in length. The work is an homage to an earlier work damaged during the remodeling of Metro Revolución. The artist combined the story of the original mural with the stories of the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes, with  women’s, of reconstruction, survival, and generosity. Finally, the story untold in the mural is in darkness.
• The station primarily serves the colonias Obrera, Tránsito, and Asturias.

Metro San Antonio Abad is not particularly well well-visited by international visitors. In addition to the giant San Antonio Abad former monastery complex, there are a number of sites worth mentioning. The more than 100-year-old Gala commercial printing company is just outside the station. They’re generally credited with having printed most of the calendars used in Latin America for much of their history. The Santa Cruz Acatlán in the Transito neighborhood is a bit further north, but well worth a look.