to clean, potable water as solvable problems using scientific methods. Another issue that modernizers tackled was sanitation in the meatpacking industry. Instilling ideas of proper hygiene were values to be imparted in schools. Penal reform Mexico City's main jail was a former convent, Belem Prison, that was repurposed several times before becoming a prison for both women and men. It was filthy, poorly run, and a symbol of the order. Plans were drawn up for the construction of a new facility, a penitentiary designed to rehabilitate its prisoners. Designed as a panopticon based on plans by Jeremy Bentham, Lecumberri penitentiary was opened in 1900. Mexican officials were cognizant of changes in the idea of prison as well as newly focused on collecting crime statistics. Culture During the Porfiriato, urban Mexican elites became more cosmopolitan, with their consumer tastes for imported fashion styles and goods being considered an indicator of Mexico's modernity, with France being the embodiment of the sophistication they admired. Since the French had invaded Mexico and occupied it during the 1860s, Mexico's turn toward France was not without controversy in Mexico. France was a major European power and with the fall of Napoleon III in 1870, the way was opened to reestablish normal relations between the countries. With the resumption of diplomatic relations, Mexico enthusiastically embraced French styles. Department stores, such as the Palacio de Hierro, were modeled on those in Paris (Bon Marché) and London (Harrod's). French influence on culture in fashion, art, and architecture is evident in the capital and other major Mexican cities, with Mexican elites enthusiastic for French styles known as Afrancesados. Among the elites, horse racing became popular and purpose-built race tracks were constructed, such as the Hippodrome of Peralvillo, built by the newly-formed Jockey Club. The club hired an architect who attended race events in Europe and the U.S. to design and build the track, which was to be opened on Easter Sunday 1882, a distinctly non-religious way to celebrate the holiday. At the delayed opening, the President of the Republic (1880–82), Manuel González, his cabinet, and the diplomatic corps, along with Mexicans who could afford the entry, watched horses owned by gentlemen compete for purses. The Jockey Club was founded in 1881, modeled on those in Europe. Mexico City's occupied the top floor of the eighteenth-century former residence of the Count of Orizaba known as the House of the Tiles. The