Sonora State Government Palace

The Sonora state government palace, the Palacio de Gobierno, is located on one side of Plaza Zaragoza in the heart of the state capital of Hermosillo. This bright white neoclassical building with its Ionic columns is a well-known symbol of the city and the state of Sonora.

A municipal office building was previously on the site of this magnificent structure, but it was razed to make room for the Palacio de Gobierno. The building was inaugurated in 1859, although the clock tower was not completed until 1906. The palacio’s original wood tower was burned in a 1948 fire and was replaced by a smaller, concrete clock tower. The wooden materials of the building’s upper deck were also replaced with more fire-resistant materials.

The building is in a rectangular shape with offices around the exterior walls, and the interior of first floor is a courtyard that is connected to the second floor by a wide, sweeping central set of stairs. The courtyard features a garden setting with bronze statues of General Ignacio Pesqueira and General García Morales.

But perhaps the building is best known for the interior walls of the first and second floor, and the main stairwell, which are adorned with fabulous murals painted in the 1980’s and 1990’s by renowned Sonoran artists Héctor Martínez Arteche, Teresa Moran and Enrique Estrada.

If you are in Hermosillo, visit Plaza Zaragoza and do not just stop to see the outside of this building – walk inside the main door of the Palacio de Gobierno to see the incredible artwork that beautifully tells stories of Mexican and Sonoran history and culture.