Palace of Mining

Mexico City's Palace of Mining (Palacio de Minería) is an architectural masterpiece of the neoclassical style in the Americas as it manages to capture the elegant forms and spaces as well as its use of light characteristic of the style. Built between 1797 and 1812 by the Spanish architect and sculptor Manuel Tolsá, the Palace was conceived as the seat of the Real Seminario de Minería with the purpose of forming mining engineers.

The Palace is located on Tacuba Street, in front of Manuel Tolsá Plaza which was inaugurated in 1979 with the placing of Tolsá's equestrian statue of Charles IV of Spain. Architectural highlights within the Palace include: The Old Chapel, The Hall of Acts, The Dean's Hall, The Schoolmaster's Hall, The Gallery of Deans, and the Library. In many of these rooms one can still observe magnificent 19th century murals whilst in the newly converted Manuel Tolsá Museum works by the artists and his colleagues can be found. Another feature of the Palace are the five patios of which the main two-bodied patio is the most famous due to its surrounding arches, beautiful pillars, and singular columns which give way to a colonial staircase.

This historic construction forms part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico's (UNAM) artistic and cultural patrimony and lies under the care of the Faculty of Engineering. Currently the building houses parts of said faculty such as its historical archives, the College of Mexican Petroleum Engineers, and the Mexican Academy of Engineering.

Due to its beauty, the halls of the Palacio de Mineria have over the years served as the seat of many important academic and cultural activities on both a national and international level.