CDMX Buildings, from old to new

One of the pleasures of Mexico City is the amazing variety of old, and in some cases really old, buildings like this one dating from the mid 1790s. This building is the old College of San Il Defonso, originally a Jesuit college and now a museum featuring paintings by many of the famous Mexican muralists. Below is one of Orozco's on the ceiling of one of the staircases. The paintings were done in the 1920s.

It was the building itself that was the big attraction for me with its serene courtyard surrounded by cloisters and its lovely windows.

The courtyards were really so beautiful and it's a treat to be able to go in behind the stern facades of these old buildings to see the beauty and peace within. This is the courtyard of the Franz Meyer Museum.

And one of its staircases.

Many of the museums we went to were in gorgeous old buildings. 

This museum is in a former convent and below you can see the church part of it. It's so old that it's sinking into the ground. Just look at the slant of the fountain.  You might also notice that the courtyard here is occupied by a number of homeless people. 

Up next is the old post office, dating from the 1800s, a very elaborate building that still functions as a post office.

Here's Harry inside on one of the ornate staircases and one of the wickets. 

It's also fun to go inside some of the grand old hotels like The Majestic, located right on the Zocalo in the historic centre of the city, featuring the most beautiful tile work on the staircases. This was built in the 19th century and my mother stayed here when she came to visit Mexico City thirty-five years ago.

Next in no particular order are some older building that caught my eye as we wandered around. Some of them are kept up and some are falling into decay. I'm always curious as to their history and part of me wants to move in or get inside and start restoration.

Now on to the more modern buildings and there are a lot of them here. The skyline in some areas looks like a big American city with lots of innovative towers.

The scene on the left is just beyond the nearest metro stop to where we were staying.

I liked the naturalistic motifs on the building on the left.

So there you are, old to new, but I'll leave you with an image that puts both the old and new in perspective.  This is part of the excavation of Tenochtitlan, built sometime after 1325 in the foreground with the church near the Zocalo built about 350 years later.

It's a fascinating city and I'm looking forward to going back sometime.