Museum of Mexico City

This museum is in a very old palace.

It has 26 rooms inside. These rooms show the history of a big city. You can see things from the Aztec times.

You might see a stone head of a serpent. There is also a fountain shaped like a shell.

The museum is a great place to learn. It tells how the city grew and changed.

The Museum of Mexico City is inside a grand palace. This building was once a home for noble families. They were called the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya.

The palace has two floors and two courtyards. You can see a shell shaped fountain in the main yard.

A woman playing a guitar sits at the center. The museum has 26 rooms. These rooms tell the story of the city. You can learn about the Aztec times and the colonial era. One room shows the work of painter Joaquín Clausell. He used these rooms as his art studio. He made many sketches of people and animals. The museum also has a big library. It holds 10,000 books about the city. You might even see a stone serpent head.

This head was found during building work. It is a special part of the city's past.

The Museum of Mexico City is a place where history comes to life.

It sits on a street called Pino Suarez, near where the Zocalo is located. This museum is special because it lives inside a grand, old palace. The building tells the story of the city from Aztec times until today. Visitors can explore many different parts of the city's long past. It is a place to discover how people lived long ago.

Walking through the museum feels like stepping back in time. The palace has two floors and two large courtyards inside.

In the main courtyard, you can find a beautiful shell-shaped fountain.

A figure called a Nereid sits there playing a guitar. The museum has 26 rooms that show different eras of history. You can see items from the pre-Hispanic period, like flat stones called metates. There are also rooms for the colonial era and the 19th century. These rooms hold furniture, vases, and many beautiful paintings.

This building has a very long and interesting story. It started as a house for Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano in 1527. He was a man who worked for Hernán Cortés. Later, his family became the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya. This noble title was given to Fernando Altamirano y Velasco in 1616. The family lived in this grand house for many generations. They held the title of count for fourteen generations. The house was a very important home for these noble people.

Much of what we see today happened during a big rebuild. Between 1776 and 1779, an architect named Francisco Antonio de Guerrero y Torres worked on the palace.

This work cost 130,000 pesos to complete. During these changes, workers found a stone serpent head.

This Aztec head likely came from the Templo Mayor. The palace walls are covered in a red stone called tezontle. The windows and doors are made of a white stone called cantera.

The museum also connects us to famous artists and thinkers. One part of the house was the studio for the painter Joaquín Clausell. He lived there in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

He left behind 1,300 sketches of people, animals, and angels. The museum also has the Jaime Torres Bodet Library. This library holds about 10,000 books about the history of the city. It even has old maps and newspapers from the 1800s. It is a wonderful place to learn about the heart of Mexico.

The Museum of Mexico City is a cultural institution located at Pino Suarez 30.

It sits near the Zocalo on the former Iztapalapa Causeway. This site is historically significant because it is near where Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma II first met. The museum is housed within the former Palace of the Counts of Santiago de Calimaya. This grand building serves as a living record of the city's history. It traces the development of Mexico City from the Aztec era to the present day.

The history of the site began in 1527 with Juan Gutiérrez Altamirano. He arrived from Cuba to serve as the Corregidor of Texcoco. Cortés granted him land near the Templo Mayor Mexica. The original home was a "fortress-house," a type of building with defensive features. It was a rectangular, three-story structure with a conical roof and a tower. Over time, the family gained noble status. In 1616, Philip III of Spain granted Don Fernando Altamirano y Velasco the title of Count of Santiago de Calimaya. This title remained with the family for fourteen generations.

Major changes occurred during the late 18th century due to environmental damage. Earthquakes and floods forced a complete restructuring of the old manor. The viceregal government commissioned the architect Francisco Antonio de Guerrero y Torres to lead the project.

Construction took place between 1776 and 1779. This massive remodeling cost 130,000 pesos. During these renovations, workers uncovered an Aztec serpent head. This stone head likely originated from the Templo Mayor and now serves as an impressive cornerstone.

The palace architecture reflects the Baroque style of the colonial era. The structure covers 2,762 square meters and features thick masonry walls. The facade is covered in red tezontle stone. The windows and main portal are crafted from cantera, a grayish-white stone.

The interior contains two floors and two large courtyards. In the main courtyard, there is a shell-shaped fountain. A Nereid, a sea figure, plays a guitar at its center. The main stairwell is located opposite this fountain. The banister features dogs with an Oriental appearance, which some believe suggests Philippine influence.

Today, the museum organizes its collection into 26 specialized rooms. These rooms are divided into four distinct historical periods. These periods include the pre-Hispanic era, the colonial period, the 19th century, and the 20th century. The pre-Hispanic room features objects like metates, which are flat stones used for grinding corn. It also displays Aztec codices and incense burners. The other rooms contain period-specific furniture, such as 19th-century Romance style chairs.

These displays allow visitors to see the evolution of daily life and art.

The museum also preserves the legacy of the painter Joaquín Clausell. He lived in the palace during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

His studio occupies several rooms in the upper part of the house. The collection includes 1,300 sketches, including portraits and mythological scenes. These works show influences from Impressionism and Symbolism. Clausell's studio was a meeting place for famous figures like Diego Rivera. The museum rotates his works through an agreement with the Museo Nacional de Arte.

Beyond art, the museum serves as a vital research center. The Jaime Torres Bodet Library contains approximately 10,000 volumes. Most of these books focus on the history of Mexico City. The collection includes 19th-century newspapers, city maps, and original copies of city council laws. This deep archive connects the museum to the broader fields of urban history and law. Through guided tours and educational programs, the museum continues to share the complex story of the city's past, present, and future.