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a new highway connected Mazatlán to the outside world, and led to improved
tourism during the 1960s and 70s.
The city expanded northward with high-rise hotels occupying the new
tourist area called the "Golden Zone." The tourist industry provided thousands
of new jobs, attracting skilled workers and professionals from other parts of
Mexico.
Local industry remains the foundation of Mazatlán's existence. It is a lead-
ing manufacturing center in the state of Sinaloa. A huge commercial and
sports fishing fleet brings in thousands of tons of shrimp, tuna, and swordfish
annually. Tourism has returned to the downtown area as many Americans and
Canadians remodel homes, and old hotels along the beach in Olas Altas are
being renovated. The architecture of the buildings and plazas in old Mazatlán
are old-world charming.
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Char les A. Hall