The Historic Center of Mexico City is home to hundreds of priceless buildings, many of them heritage-listed. Yet time and disuse take their toll, which is why restoration and maintenance are essential to keep them in optimal condition.
One example is the Museo de la Ciudad de México, housed in what was once the Palacio de los Condes de Santiago de Calimaya, a Spanish noble family. It is one of the oldest buildings in the city, built by Francisco Guerrero y Torres in 1779, and it stands out for its baroque composition and ornament. Sadly, it lost its luster over the years and ended up in ruins, until in 1964 architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez carried out the first intervention to convert it into the museum it is today. The building underwent two more restorations: one in 1997, led by architect Ricardo Prado Núñez, which restored the original finishes as well as the stone friezes and crowns; and another between 2002 and 2003, which renovated the façade and the 30 doors, leveled the ground-floor halls, intervened on the carved pieces of the central courtyard, and restored the mural painted by Joaquín Claussel during his residence there. Today, the building's persistence and proper recovery offers the chance to understand the spatial configuration of an 18th-century construction.
Another case is the Casino Español, an emblematic building located at Isabel La Católica #29, headquarters of the organization founded in 1863 by leading members of the Spanish community in Mexico. The eclectic building was constructed between 1903 and 1905 by the Catalan architect Emilio González del Campo. Its façade, courtyard, and galleries are ornamented with Arabic, Renaissance, Plateresque, and Baroque details. In 1943 it was expanded to a project by architect Manuel Ortiz Monasterio and his partner Luis Ávila to meet new demands brought on by the modernization of the capital. The work was extensive and carried out in two phases — first a remodeling and then an extension — completed in 1951. It has only recently been intervened, with façades and finishes restored under the direction of the late specialist architect Juan Benito Artigas in collaboration with Marisa Malo.
A final case is the Edificio Vizcaya on Avenida Bucareli, a multi-family complex built in 1924 by architect Roberto Servín in a Porfirian style influenced by European architecture and the American style. Being a private property, it also suffered damage over time, until its restoration in recent years. The process, in which architect Rogelio García Mora Pinto took part, recovered the mansards crowning the façade, refurbished the ground-floor commercial spaces, cleaned the stone façade, updated the apartment service installations, repaired the six electric elevators, restored the central avenue that gives access to the dwellings, and created a green roof for the benefit of all.
In every case the value of these interventions is clear: the Museo de la Ciudad de México as an example of a viceregal mansion preserving its original configuration; the Casino Español for the way it improves the urban skyline; and the Edificio Vizcaya for reactivating ground-floor commerce — all alongside the broader revitalization of Avenida Bucareli, just steps from Reurbano's new project Edificio Dondé.
