Museum (Ex seminary de San José) was constructed at the beginning of the 18th century to be the Seminario Conciliar de San José. From 1861 to 1914, it housed a school called Liceo de Varones. In 1918, it became the Museum of Fine Artes. In 1976, it was completely remodeled for its present use. The Museum contains sixteen halls displaying its permanent collection. Fourteen of the halls are divided into zones named Paleontology, Pre-History, and Archeology. One of the prize exhibits is a complete skeleton of a mammoth. The other two halls are dedicated to painting and History. Some of the paintings in the collection were done by Juan Correa, Cristóbal de Villalpando and José de Ibarra.
Between the Cathedral and the Hospicio is a large plaza called Plaza Tapatía. It is an important cultural and commercial area which covers an area of 70,000 m2. Its centerpiece if the large Quetzalcoátl sculpture/fountain.(encmuc) Southeast of this plaza is the Mercado Libertad, also called the Mercado de San Juan de Dios. It is one of the largest traditional markets in Mexico. Next to it is the Temple of San Juan de Dios constructed in the 17th century of Baroque style.
At the far east end is the Plaza de los Mariachis and the Ex-Hospicio Cabañas. The Plaza de los Mariachis is faced by a number of restaurants in which one can hear live mariachis play, especially at night. The Ex-Hospicio Cabañas extends along the entire east side of the Plaza. This building was constructed by Manuel Tolsá beginning in 1805 under orders of Carlos III.(encmuc)(hospiciodes) It was inaugurated and began its function as an orphanage in 1810, in spite of the fact that it would not be finished until 1845. It was named after Bishop Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo. The façade of the building is Neoclassical and its main entrance is topped by a triangular pediment. Today, it is the home of the Instituto Cultural Cabañas (Cabañas Cultural Institute) and its main attraction is the murals by
