Secretariat of Public Education Main Headquarters
Coordinates: 19°26′11.57″N 99°7′53.27″W / 19.4365472°N 99.1314639°W
The Secretariat of Public Education Main Headquarters building is on the northeast corner of San Ildefonso and Republica de Argentina streets in the historic center of Mexico City, and used to be part of the largest and most sumptuous convents in New Spain. It was secularized in the 19th century and then taken over by the then-new Secretariat of Public Education after the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century. The new agency did extensive remodeling work on the building, including covering nearly all the walls of the two inner courtyards with murals. These murals include Diego Rivera’s first large-scale mural project, which he completed in 1928.
The main facade, which faces San Ildefonso Street, is designed to have a classical Greek look. The overall color is white and it has three levels. The decorations on the bottom level have a softer, more rounded appearance but the upper two have sharper lines and a more monumental feel, containing Ionic pilasters. At the top of the facade is a balustrade. In the center, there is a group of sculptures representing the Greek gods Apollo, Minerva and Dionysus done by Ignacio Asunsolo, which were placed here to emphasize the building’s now-secular function. At each end of the facade are Aztec and Spanish-style weapons respectively. The side facade is the original. Most of it is simply covered in tezontle, but there are two reliefs in white stone, “The Visit of the Archangel Gabriel” and The Martyrdom of Lawrence of Rome, which were the first of their kind done in Mexico. The belltower is covered in tilework.
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