The Palace of Fine Arts is a cultural venue located in the Historic Center of Mexico City, considered the most important in the manifestation of the arts in Mexico and one of the most renowned opera houses in the world.

History

The Palace of Fine Arts began to be built on August 2, 1904 in order to replace the demolished National Theater of Mexico. The project was in charge of the Italian architect Adamo Boari. The building had to occupy the area between the streets La Mariscala, San Francisco Bridge, Santa Isabel and Mirador de la Alameda (today called Hidalgo Avenue, Juarez Avenue, Lázaro Cárdenas Central Axis and Angela Peralta). However, due to technical problems of subsidence of the land, economic problems, the departure of Boari from the country and the Mexican Revolution, the construction was suspended and resumed several times for thirty years, instead of ending in the four years originally scheduled.

Palace of Fine Arts Museum

The Museum of the Palace of Fine Arts is the organization that handles the permanent murals and other works of art in the building, in addition to organizing temporary exhibitions. These exhibitions cover a wide range of media and feature Mexican and international artists, focusing on classic and contemporary artists.

They present Mexican and international artists, focusing on classic and contemporary artists.

The floors between the ground floor and the upper floor are dominated by a series of murals painted by most of the famous names of Mexican muralism. On the second floor there are two works from the early 1950s by Rufino Tamayo: Mexico today and Nacimiento de la nación, a symbolic representation of the creation of the mestizo (person of mixed Indian and Spanish ancestry) identity. At the western end of the third floor is The Man Controller of the Universe, originally commissioned by the Rockefeller Center in New York in 1933. 

The mural shows a variety of technological and social themes. (like the discoveries made possible by microscopes and telescopes) and was controversial for its inclusion of Lenin and a Soviet parade on May Day. The Rockefellers were not happy with the painting and the incomplete work was finally destroyed and painted. Diego Rivera recreated it here in 1934. On the north side of the third floor are The new democracy of David Alfaro Siqueiros and the Carnival of Mexican life (four parts) of Rivera; to the east is the catharsis of José Clemente Orozco, which represents the conflict between the "social" and "natural" aspects of humanity.

National Museum of Architecture

The National Museum of Architecture occupies the top floor of the building, covered by a glass and iron roof. It contains exhibitions of recognized Mexican architects, including models, plans and photographs of important works. This museum also organizes temporary exhibitions of its collections in other facilities. The objective is to expose the Mexican public to the rich architectural heritage of the country. Some of the main architects presented at the museum include Jaime Ortiz Monasterio, Carlos Mijares Bracho, Adamo Boari and Luis Barragán. The museum is divided into four sections called "Architecture-contrasts: Jaime Ortiz Monasterio and Carlos Mijares Bracho", "Urban Corpus of Mexico City", "National Theater of Mexico (Original Plan)" and "National Theater of Mexico". There are also temporary exhibitions on contemporary architecture.