The 19th century saw the construction of the monumental Carrera Theater in the 1850s , and the Presidential Palace in the 1890s . At this time the city was expanding around the '' 30 de junio '' Boulevard and elsewhere , displacing native settlements from the ancient site . Earthquakes in 1917 &ndash; 1918 destroyed many historic structures . Under Jorge Ubico in the 1930s a hippodrome and many new public buildings were constructed , although peripheral poor neighborhoods that formed after the 1917 &ndash; 1918 earthquakes continued to lack basic amenities
Earthquakes
1917 Guatemala earthquake
Guatemala City