Secretariat of Public Education Main Headquarters, Museum building in Historic Center, Mexico

The Secretariat of Public Education headquarters is a building with multiple interior courtyards in the Historic Center, its walls covered with artistic works. The structure combines colonial architecture with corridors and rooms organized across different levels.

The convent was founded in 1594 by Conceptionist nuns with a licence from Archbishop Alonso Fernández de Bonilla; the first stone of its larger church was laid in 1639 and the church was dedicated on 7 March 1648. The nuns were exclaustrated in 1863 and the convent building served as tenements, a primary school, a law faculty and a teachers' college. In 1921 remodeling began to house the Secretariat of Public Education, and the church later became the auditorium.

The murals created by Diego Rivera tell stories about Mexican history, indigenous traditions, and the nation's educational mission. Visitors walking through the courtyards and hallways encounter these images as part of the building's daily visual experience.

The building is open to visitors on weekdays and offers the opportunity to explore its rooms and artworks. A good time to visit is in the morning, when fewer people are present and the courtyards feel quieter.

Diego Rivera painted small hammers and sickles beside his signature on the panels, a trace of his Communist Party membership at the time. The two courtyards he covered he named the Labor Courtyard and the Fiesta Courtyard after the themes he gave each.