Casa de los Azulejos

. The house is currently on the Callejón de la Condesa, between 5 de Mayo Street and what is now Madero Street. Madero Street was laid out in the 16th century and originally called San Francisco Street, after the church and monastery here. Later it was called Plateros Street, because of all the silver miners and silversmiths located here. From the 16th century through most of the colonial period, it was one of the most desirable streets in the city. Before 1793, there were two houses on this site, which were joined through the merger of two Criollo families of New Spain, when Graciana Suárez Peredo and the second Count del Valle de Orizaba married. Both families were very rich and held noble titles. The current structure was begun in 1793. ==Countess families and Tile facade==

s It is known that the original construction was built in the 16th century, and that it is actually made up of the union of two stately mansions, of which the one that was originally located on the south side was the one that belonged, together with the so-called Plazuela de Guardiola to a man named Damián Martínez. These properties, although separated by an alley, were then located in front of the already busy and commercial Calle de Plateros, exactly in front of the Convent of San Francisco el Grande in Mexico City. From the history of this property, being the owner Don Damián and seeing himself in financial difficulties, they find it necessary to sell this and the adjoining square to another gentleman named Diego Suárez de Peredo in the year 1596. Don Rodrigo inherited one of his properties that was attached to the house to his son (which was the North house), so Don Luis was the first of the family to inhabit the houses, which he ordered to unite and had them repaired. The current appearance of the palace is not due to Don Luis, it is due to one of his descendants, Doña Graciana Suárez de Peredo the Fifth Countess of the Valley of Orizaba. She lived in the city of Puebla from her marriage until the death of her husband, in the year 1708. She then returned to the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and made use of the property. In 1737, the Countess ordered a repair of several buildings which she owned. She requested the stonework and facade of the palace be completely covered with azulejos from Puebla. Diego Durán Berruecos worked on the arches, columns, skirting boards, doors, window cornices, as well as the balustrades. ==The rest of the house==

The most notable feature of the exterior are the blue and white tiles from Puebla that cover the building on three sides. Its windows, balconies and doors are framed in carved stone and French porcelain crowns on the Callejón de la Condesa and Madero Street facades. Inside, the main courtyard contains a fountain crowned with mosaics. The fountain is surrounded by highly decorated columns and topped with more French porcelain crowns as well as a stained glass roof that was added in the 20th century. Both the fountain and columns show some damage. On the second floor, the courtyard railings are made of copper; some made in China and some made in Mexico. The overall look to the courtyard is generally Baroque but also somewhat Mudéjar. ==18th to early 20th century==

restaurant The Counts of the Valley de Orizaba sold the house to attorney Martinez de la Torre in 1871. Upon Torre's death, the de Yturbe Idaroff family moved in, the last to keep the building as a private residence. Near the end of the 19th century, the house lost 90 square meters on the north side, to make way for 5 de Mayo Street. In 1881, the top floor was rented to the Jockey Club, the most exclusive social club between 1880 and 1914, and the lower floor housed an exclusive women's clothing store until 1914. For a brief time afterwards one of its floors was used as a venue for the House of the World Worker. In 1914, supporters of Porfirio Díaz held a banquet here in honor of Victoriano Huerta to celebrate the assassination of Francisco I. Madero after the Decena Trágica. An indignant Venustiano Carranza then seized the property in 1915, holding it for a number of months. The original owner, Francisco-Sergio de Yturbe managed to regain possession of the house before government-hired workers were able to finish remodeling it. ==Sanborns==

Early in the 20th century, Frank Sanborn and his brother Walter opened a small soda fountain/drugstore on Filomeno Mata Street in the historic center of Mexico City, calling it Sanborns American Pharmacy The building was declared a national monument in 1931. Since the early 20th century, this Sanborns has been a popular place to have a meal in luxurious surroundings. The business has hosted painters, writers, actors, poets and revolutionaries. It was a symbol of a cosmopolitan atmosphere in the first half of the 20th century. The building was restored again between 1993 and 1995 after suffering a minor fire on the second floor. This project was aimed at preserving the elements of the building dating from the Baroque period, the French and Art Nouveau elements of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the two murals, which had deteriorated considerably. Sanborns currently belongs to billionaire Carlos Slim. ==Gallery==

File:Casimiro Castro - Guardiola Square - Google Art Project.jpg|Plazuela de Guardiola in 1855 by Casimiro Castro. Museo Nacional de Arte. Casa de los Azulejos is at center. File:Fountain in the patio of the Casa de los Azulejos. 1901 or before. Henry G. Peabody (cropped).jpg|Colonial fountain in the patio of the Casa de los Azulejos. Photo of 1901. Photographed by Henry G. Peabody File:Cloister of Casa de Azulejos in 1900 (Mexico City).jpg|Cloister of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897. File:Casa de Azulejos in 1900 (Mexico City).jpg|Interior of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897. File:Interior 2 of Casa de Azulejos in 1897 (Mexico City).jpg|Interior of Casa de los Azulejos in 1897. File:Casa de los Azulejos 1900.jpg|Casa de los Azulejos in 1897. ==See also==