Casa de los Azulejos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Casa de los AzulejosPalacio de los Condes del Valle de Orizaba |
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View of the Casa de los Azulejos from 5 de Mayo Street
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | New Spanish Baroque |
| Location | Mexico City, Mexico |
The Casa de los Azulejos (which means "House of Tiles") is a beautiful old palace in Mexico City. It's also known as the Palace of the Counts of Valley of Orizaba. This amazing building was built in the 1700s by a rich family called the Counts of the Valle de Orizaba.
What makes this palace special is its outside walls. Three sides of the building are covered in bright blue and white tiles! These tiles are called Talavera tiles and they come from the state of Puebla in Mexico. For a long time, the palace was a private home. But later, it was bought by the Sanborns brothers. They turned it into a famous restaurant, which it still is today! It's now the main restaurant for the Sanborns chain in Mexico.
The family who owned the palace, the Counts of the Valle de Orizaba, started building it way back in the 1500s. Later, in 1737, one of their family members decided to cover the outside of the palace with the famous blue and white tiles you see now.
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The Palace's Location and History
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The Casa de los Azulejos is located on Callejón de la Condesa, between 5 de Mayo Street and Madero Street. Madero Street was first built in the 1500s. It was originally called San Francisco Street because of the nearby church and monastery. Later, it was known as Plateros Street, which means "Silversmiths Street." This was because many silver miners and silversmiths worked there. For a long time, this street was one of the most popular and important streets in the city.
Before 1793, there were actually two separate houses on this spot. These houses became one when two wealthy families from New Spain joined together through marriage. This happened when Graciana Suárez Peredo married the second Count del Valle de Orizaba. Both families were very rich and had important titles. The palace you see today started being built in 1793.
The Countess and the Famous Tiles
The original building started in the 1500s. It was actually two large houses that were joined together. One of these houses belonged to a man named Damián Martínez. He sold his property to Diego Suárez de Peredo in 1596 because he needed money.
Diego Suárez de Peredo later became a widower and decided to join a religious group called the Franciscans. He moved to Zacatecas, leaving the house to his daughter. She married the second Count of the Valley of Orizaba, Luis de Vivero. Luis de Vivero's father, Don Rodrigo de Vivero y Aberrucia, was a very important person in the government of New Spain. He was even a governor in the Philippine Islands. Don Rodrigo gave his son Luis another house next door. So, Luis de Vivero was the first in the family to live in the joined houses. He had them repaired, but they didn't look like they do now.
The palace's famous look today is thanks to one of Luis's descendants, Doña Graciana Suárez de Peredo. She was the Fifth Countess of the Valley of Orizaba. After her husband died in 1708, she moved back to Mexico City. In 1737, she saw that the palace was getting old and needed repairs. She decided to make it even more beautiful. She asked an architect to cover the entire front of the building with azulejos from Puebla. These are the amazing blue and white tiles! The architect, Diego Durán Berruecos, also added beautiful carved stone details around the arches, columns, and windows. This made the tiles stand out even more.
Inside the Palace
The outside of the palace is famous for its blue and white tiles. The windows, balconies, and doors are decorated with carved stone. Inside, there's a main courtyard with a fountain covered in mosaics. The fountain is surrounded by fancy columns. A stained-glass roof was added in the 1900s, covering the courtyard. On the second floor, the railings are made of copper, some from China and some from Mexico. The courtyard has a mix of Baroque and Mudéjar styles, which are both very decorative.
There are two large murals inside the building. One is a peacock mural painted by a Romanian artist named Pacologue in 1919. The other is in the main stairway. It's called Omniscience and was painted by José Clemente Orozco in 1925. This was one of his first big artworks. It shows three symbolic figures representing different values. On the second floor, there's also a chapel facade decorated with gold frames and angels. You can also see a collection of beautiful porcelain art.
From Private Home to Public Space
The Counts of the Valley de Orizaba sold the house in 1871. It then belonged to the de Yturbe Idaroff family, who were the last to live there as a private home. In the late 1800s, part of the house was removed to make space for 5 de Mayo Street.
In 1881, the top floor was rented out to the Jockey Club, which was a very fancy social club. The ground floor had an exclusive women's clothing store. For a short time, one floor was even used by a workers' organization called the House of the World Worker. During the Mexican Revolution, a group of soldiers called the Zapatistas briefly took over the building. In 1914, supporters of Porfirio Díaz held a big dinner here to celebrate a political event. Because of this, Venustiano Carranza took control of the property in 1915 for several months. However, the original owner, Francisco-Sergio de Yturbe, managed to get the house back before the government could finish changing it.
The Sanborns Era
In the early 1900s, two brothers, Frank and Walter Sanborn, opened a small soda fountain and drugstore in Mexico City. They called it Sanborns American Pharmacy. In 1917, the brothers saw the old palace and thought it would be a perfect place to make their business bigger. They spent two years fixing it up. They added the beautiful stained-glass roof over the main courtyard and new floors. They also commissioned the peacock mural by Pacologue.
Another important mural, Omniscience, was painted by José Clemente Orozco in 1925. This was asked for by Francisco-Sergio de Yturbe, with the Sanborns brothers' approval. The inner courtyard was turned into a restaurant, and it's now the main location for the Sanborns restaurant chain. The building was officially declared a national monument in 1931. Since the early 1900s, this Sanborns has been a very popular place to eat in a luxurious setting. Many famous painters, writers, actors, poets, and even revolutionaries have visited it. It became a symbol of a modern and exciting atmosphere in the early 20th century.
The building was repaired again between 1993 and 1995 after a small fire. This project aimed to protect the old Baroque parts of the building, as well as the French and Art Nouveau styles from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The two important murals were also restored because they had started to wear out. Today, Sanborns is owned by the billionaire Carlos Slim.
Gallery
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Plazuela de Guardiola in 1855 by Casimiro Castro. The Casa de los Azulejos is in the center.
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The colonial fountain in the patio of the Casa de los Azulejos. Photo from 1901.
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The cloister of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897.
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Interior of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897.
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Interior of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897.
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See also
In Spanish: Casa de los Azulejos para niños
- List of colonial non-religious buildings in Mexico City
- Talavera pottery
- Azulejo
