Over its lifetime, the building has been a home for the mentally disabled and has housed soldiers or prisoners
Manuel Tolsá built this orphanage in the neo-classical style in the 19th century. The story goes that in 1811 Miguel Hidalgo signed a proclamation against slavery here. The building is now an institute for cultural activities with a museum, a theatre and a school. On permanent display here are more than 100 works by Orozco, and there are also temporary exhibitions, dance and theatre shows, as well as concerts.
José Clemente Orozco’s arguably most beautiful frescoes line the walls of a former chapel in the building, which contains 23 patios. Orozco resided here in 1938/39 and artistically occupied himself with the four elements, the arts and sciences, the Spanish conquest and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. His crowning achievement is the work in the dome of the building, Man of Fire (Hombre del Fuego).
Orozco’s works are displayed in different rooms around the patios. Since 1997, the entire building of the Hospicio Cabañas, including all Orozco frescoes, has been a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage Site.
