Manzanares 25 and the 16th-century housing architecture

In October, the site museum and the Children's Arts Centre will be opened in Manzanares 25, in the district of La Merced, considered the oldest house in Mexico City.

 

Mexico City in the 16th century, which would be the Emporium and head of the New Spain was built days after the great Tenochtitlan was razed. The foundations of the new city were built on its smoky ruins. To say of Jesús Galindo and Villa in summary history of Mexico City, the houses were rising, but with their battlements, their towers and appearance of true strengths; Of a floor generally, using Tezontle, the most were of lime and ridge with strong beams and roof roofs; With few doors to the street, few windows and balconies with stone banisters. Inside they had large patios in the style of the southern towns of Spain, with stables for horses, rooms of arms, so that the city "should seem rather a camp than a population".

Towards the last quarter of the 16th century the capital began to experience notable changes. Not so much in its urban structure, but in its physiognomy and in the social use of space. The fear that the metropolis could be attacked had been overcome, which resulted in a much more intense presence of people on the streets.  The primitive houses also changed: The strong appearance of its facades became different when displaying numerous and ample windows, which favored that the domestic life, until that moment introverted, began to overturn to the outside.

All these descriptions of a mestizo and grim architecture are visible in the house of Manzanares, considered the oldest in the city. This construction, dating from the end of the 16th century, is apparently the only example of the 16th-century city that stands. It should be remembered that in the year 1629 a barrage took place that for almost five years changed deeply the life and physiognomy of the metropolis. The few constructions of the previous century that still existed had to be demolished or they ended up being buried, because the level of the streets rose to prevent future floods.

That is why this patrimonial building considered an invaluable historical document, deserved to be rescued in 2010 of the serious deterioration in which it was. However, it was up to 2015 that they began their recovery and are currently in the second, three-stage. The objective is that in less than six months they begin to be imparted, in coordination with the secretariat of federal Culture, musical, cinematographic and literature workshops to benefit 800 children who live in streets surrounding this area invaded by prostitution, As well as informal trade.

The house consists of a courtyard surrounded by 12 rooms, which more or less have identical dimensions. Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History hypothesized that it belonged to an affluent Indian merchant: The Casona is in the area where they entered the city, aboard canoes and Trajinerass — and through a maze of ditches and canals — , the plant products that assured their survival.

Juan Benito Artigas has pointed out that the building retains architectural elements and constructive materials from the 16th century: the layout of the patio, the absence of a dining room and a room for the kitchen has strong prehispanic reminiscences: it speaks of a House built in the early days of the city. Artigas aims, as unobjectionable references of the antiquity of the construction, the foundations of Tezontle, the plinths of stone of enclosure and the way of framing doors and windows by means of a system of Adarajas.

Turned into populous neighborhood, the house went through the centuries. It was evacuated a few years ago: several roofs had collapsed and the walls were fragmented. The grass had grown in the rooms and in the courtyard.  Finally in 2015 the trust of the historic center began its rescue and began the work of recovery. The first stage consisted in the shoring up of the structure, cleaning and removal of the constructive elements added over time. The second stage was the reconstruction and maintenance of the objects found on the site and the third one will adjust final details so that the property is ready and can continue to operate for some years, or perhaps other centuries.