The Oldest House

The Historic Center of Mexico City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and contains around 1500 buildings of historic or artistic value.  For those of us from a nation as young as the United States, the antiquity of many of its buildings is striking.  While the English were establishing their first settlements, Mexico City was a thriving colonial capital with churches, palaces and schools.

As you walk around the Historic Center you will see many buildings, still in use, that are older than the United States.

  

However, you will not see any buildings which date back to the 1500s. Due to earthquakes and floods, nothing remains of the original city which the Spanish constructed after they conquered the Aztec capital in 1521.  That is except for one house which has stood for nearly half a millennium on Manzanares Street several blocks to the east of the Zócalo.

In 2010 work began on restoring the structure, which was in a ruinous state, and in 2018 it was opened as a cultural center for children.  Some years ago, I went looking for the house, but, unfortunately, because it was Holy Week, it was not open.  Last Wednesday, I decided to return.

From its unassuming exterior, you would never guess its historic significance.

But the plaque next to the entrance says, "This is the only house from the 16th century still standing in the Historic Center of Mexico City."

The cultural center was open, and I asked the gentleman at the entrance if I might go inside to take some photos.  He very kindly showed me around and told me the history of the building.

He showed me this photo of the abandoned house before restoration began.

Because of the layout of the house and its construction methods it is believed that it belonged to an Aztec family.  Some of the information I have read says that the house actually predates the Spanish conquest.  However, my guide contradicted that saying that the stones used to build the house came from the Aztec temple when the Spanish tore it down.  

Because of the size of the house, with twelve rooms arranged around the courtyard, it is believed that the original owner was quite well-to-do, perhaps an Aztec noble.  Since it was located closed to where one of the major canals ran, in an area that was devoted to commerce, he might have been a wealthy merchant.

 

The wooden beams of the roof have been replaced with new ones.

The drain spouts are originals.

Later, the house was converted into a "vecindad", a tenement in which each room was inhabited by a different family.

The "lavadero", the basin where laundry was washed, dates from the 19th century.  The story goes that a little girl drowned there, and that her ghost still inhabits the building.

Just a few steps down the street from the house is this little church called the Chapel of the Lord of Humility.

Although this baroque chapel dates from the 18th century, it stands on the site where the Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés, built one of seven hermitages at the limits of the city to keep demons from entering his newly conquered capital.  In those days, just beyond this chapel was the shore of Lake Texcoco.

The chapel is the smallest church in Mexico City.  The interior measures 30 feet by 13 feet, and only 24 people fit inside.