its artistic value. The statue's former oval base was moved to what was then the university building and the balustrade was moved to the Alameda Central. This left the plaza bare except for the Parian. On 4 and 5 December 1828, the Parián market, the most active of Mexico City's markets, was looted and damaged by a popular uprising. Several merchants died and most were ruined. President Santa Anna finally had the Parián demolished in 1843. This left the plaza bare again, except for some ash trees and flower gardens that were planted and protected by stone borders. Santa Anna wanted to build a monument to Mexican Independence in the center of the plaza but his project got only as far as the base (zócalo), which stayed there for decades and gave the plaza its current popular name. It stayed this way until 1866 when the Paseo (path) del Zócalo was created in response to the numbers of people who were using the plaza to take walks. A garden with footpaths was created; fountains were placed at each corner; 72 iron benches were installed and the area was lighted by hydrogen gas lamps. Santa Anna's base, however, was not removed. Era of the Porfiriato In 1878, Antonio Escandon donated a kiosk to the city which was set over and on top of Santa Anna's base. It was lit with four large iron candelabras and designed to be similar to one in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris. Soon afterward, the company Ferrocarriles del Distrito Federal ("Trains of the Federal District") converted part of the Zócalo into a streetcar station with ticket kiosk and stand. The streetcars and lighting were converted to electric power in 1894, and the Zócalo's paths were paved with asphalt in 1891. From the latter half of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth, the Zócalo again filled with market stalls, including the "Centro Mercantil" which sold fabric, clothing, and Art Nouveau stonework. The other stalls concentrated on more mundane merchandise. This caused pedestrians to take their walks on Alameda Central or on San Francisco and Madero streets, to the west of the Zócalo. 20th century During the Decena Trágica (the ten days from 9 to 19 February 1913), the National Palace was bombarded from the nearby military fort, incidentally damaging the Zócalo. In 1914, the ash trees planted in the previous century (which meanwhile