Cantón renovation: A surprise in the attic

Look who's been hiding in the Palacio Cantón since the 1940s. Photo: INAH
Look who’s been hiding in the Palacio Cantón since the 1940s. Photo: INAH

Mérida, Yucatán — Restoration work at the Palacio Cantón has uncovered historic graffiti that represents a window into everyday life in the 1940s, when the ornate museum was an elementary school.

The drawings and notes were found on the interior walls of the attic while INAH was performing restoration and conservation work.

The drawings and lists handwriting were found on the interior walls of the attic of the Canton Palace while specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) performed restoration and conservation work at the site.

The mansard roof of the Palacio Cantón receives some tender loving care. Photo: Sipse
The mansard roof of the Palacio Cantón receives some tender loving care. Photo: Sipse

Museum Director Giovana Jaspersen explained in a statement released by the INAH that after removing layers of paint from different eras, the original light ocher paint was revealed, the backdrop for some drawings.

The historic building, built between 1904 and 1911. It has served as a governor’s house, library, school and the Yucatán Institute of Anthropology and History. More on the restoration here.

Graffiti from the Palacio Canton's days as a school has been uncovered in the attic. Photo: INAH
Graffiti from the Palacio Canton’s days as a school has been uncovered in the attic. Photo: INAH

The building was commissioned as a family residence by General Francisco Canton, a military figure and governor of Yucatan, who inhabited it until his death in 1917.

In December 1959 the Regional Museum of Anthropology of Yucatan was established in the grand facility on the Paseo de Montejo.

Source: Agencies, INAH release

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