National Palace of Culture
Green-stone former seat of government on the Plaza Mayor, open for guided tours of its halls and courtyards.
The National Palace closes the northern side of Guatemala City's Plaza de la Constitución. Built between 1939 and 1943 under the government of Jorge Ubico, it replaced earlier palaces destroyed by earthquake and fire. Its pale green-grey walls, the result of mixing copper oxide into the render, gave it the popular nickname of the Green Palace. The structure was designed in three interconnected but independent segments so that it could better withstand earthquakes.
For half a century the building housed the presidency and the main organs of government; it was reclassified as a museum and cultural centre in 1999 and is now used chiefly for state ceremonies and public visits. Guided tours take in the Reception Hall, the banqueting hall, twin courtyards and stained-glass windows by Julio Urruela Vásquez, along with murals by Alfredo Gálvez Suárez. A monument in the building marks the point from which distances in Guatemala are measured.
Highlights
- Green-tinted stone facade that gives the building its nickname
- Stained glass by Julio Urruela Vásquez and murals by Alfredo Gálvez Suárez
- Two interior courtyards and the ceremonial Reception Hall
- Kilómetro Cero, the point from which Guatemalan road distances are measured
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