Our trip is of age now

Let's continue our exploration of the Parque Central. To borrow a line from R.E.M., "Now face North"

On the opposite side of the Park from the Palacio de los Capatanes Generales is the Ayuntamiento. I will let the Rough Guide to Guatemala tell you all about it: On the north side of the plaza is the Ayuntamiento, the city hall also known as the Casa del Cabildo, or town house. Dating from 1740, its metre-thick walls balance the solid style of the Palace of the Captains General. Unlike most others, this building survived earlier rumblings and wasn't damaged until the 1976 earthquake, although it has since been repaired. The city hall was abandoned in 1779 when the capital moved to Guatemala City, but it was later reclaimed for use by the city's administration. If you climb to the upper level of the building, there's a wonderful vista of the three volcanoes that ring the city, especially fine at sunset.

The Ayuntamiento also holds a couple of minor museums. The first of these, the Museo de Santiago, houses a collection of colonial artefacts, including bits of pottery, a sword said to have been used by Alvarado, some traditional Maya weapons, portraits of stern-faced colonial figures, and some paintings of warfare between the Spanish and the Maya. At the back of the museum is the old city jail, beside which there used to be a small chapel where condemned prisoners passed their last moments before being hauled off to the gallows in the plaza. Also under the arches of the city hall, the Museo del Libro Antiguo is located in the rooms that held the first printing press in Central America. The press arrived here in 1660 from Puebla de los Angeles in Mexico and churned out its first book three years later. A replica of the press is on display alongside some copies of the works produced on it.

Now that you know all about it, this is what it looks like (yes, we used the first picture earlier but now you know what the building is so doesn't it make it more meaningful now?):

The Museo de Santiago is currently closed for renovations which is a pity because previous explorations of the Museum revealed one of the mermaid statues from the Central Park fountain on display allowing folks to take completely inappropriate pictures with the lovely sirena. You will have to use your imagination.

For those keeping score at home, please award yourself bonus points if you recognized the portico of the Ayuntamiento as the location of the marimba band from an earlier post titled Lazy Sunday. If you awarded yourself bonus points, please let us know so we know that you have way too much time on your hands.