Saint Augustine House
The Saint Augustine House is a landmark building located in the Historic center of Mexico City, on the corner of the streets Republic of Uruguay and 5 of February, (previously streets of Don Juan Manuel and la Joya respectively).
It got its name as it was property of the order of the Augustinians, whose convent was located next to this building.
History
The order of the Augustinians owned several properties in the colonial Mexico City, besides the convent the Augustinians, including: the College of San Pablo (present day Juárez Hospital), the Hacienda of Santa Monica (in Tlalnepantla), the hostel of Santo Tomas de Villanueva (present day boutique hotel), the hostel of San Nicolas de Tolentino (present day property of the UNAM), the novitiate and its chapel (on Republic of El Salvador street), besides several houses in the area of the historic center of Mexico City.[1]
- Colonial period
The exact date of the construction of the San Agustín House is not known. The oldest photographs of the building are from the late 19th century, but the building was built at the end of the 17th century or the beginning of the 18th century during the colonial period of New Spain. It has typical elements of the domestic architecture of that period. The main characteristic of the facade are the ajaracas, a Moorish style decoration that consists of mortar lines interlaced to each other forming figures. Those of Saint Augustine house are one of the very few examples of colonial ajaracas that are conserved in the historic center of Mexico City.
- 20th century
In 1924, the building was fully remodelled and 3 floors were added in Spanish Colonial Revival style, with arches, gargoyles and sculpture of the Virgin of Guadalupe while the interior was decorated with thousands of talavera tiles and iron forged handrails.
In the mid 1930s the roof of the building was adapted as a terrace in order to house a rooftop restaurant. At that time the Art Deco style was popular in Mexico City, and its influence can be appreciated in some details of the terrace like the geometrized battlements and the two small domes.
- Hotel
After 1928 the building lodged the Hotel Ontario, which worked until the 1980' s, when the zone was deteriorated as a result of the earthquake of 1985 and the operation of the hotel was no longer viable. After that the building remained semi abandoned, with small offices and stores and even a night club in the mid nineties, until its full renovation to lodge a Hampton Inn and Suites hotel that opened since December 2008.
References
External links
- Hampton Inn and Suites Mexico City website
- v
- t
- e
and immediate vicinity
- Administrative buildings
- Metropolitan Cathedral
- Nacional Monte de Piedad
- National Palace
- Old Portal de Mercaderes
- Templo Mayor
- Church of Jesus Nazareno
- Church of San Felipe Neri "La Profesa"
- Church of San Hipólito
- Church of Santa Inés
- Convent of La Merced
- Convent of San Francisco
- Convent of Santa Inés
- Corpus Christi Church
- Historic Synagogue Justo Sierra 71
- Iglesia de San Bernardo
- La Enseñanza Church
- La Santísima Church
- Nuestra Señora de Loreto Church
- Regina Coeli Convent Church
- Royal Convent of Jesús María and Our Lady of Mercy
- Santa Teresa la Antigua
- Santa Veracruz Monastery
- Santo Domingo
- Templo Expiatorio Nacional de San Felipe de Jesús
- Valvanera Cathedral
- Caricature Museum
- Casa Talavera Cultural Center
- Centro Cultural de España
- Colegio de San Ildefonso
- Franz Mayer Museum
- House of the First Print Shop in the Americas
- Interactive Museum of Economics
- José Luis Cuevas Museum
- Museo de Arte Popular
- Museo de Charrería
- Museo de la Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público
- Museo del Estanquillo
- Museo Mural Diego Rivera
- Museo Nacional de Arte
- Museo Nacional de la Estampa
- Museo Nacional de las Culturas
- Museum of Light
- Museum of Mexico City
- Palace of the Inquisition
- Palacio de Minería
- San Pedro y San Pablo College
19°25′48.58″N 99°8′5.43″W / 19.4301611°N 99.1348417°W / 19.4301611; -99.1348417