THE GOVERNMENT HOUSE. EPICENTER OF SOUTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA POLITICS.

 

Author: Sealtiel Enciso Pérez.

The citizens of La Paz who strolled through the historic center of this beautiful port in the early 1960s will remember with great pleasure the beautiful building that covered the entire block between Francisco I. Madero, 5 de Mayo, Belisario Domínguez, and Independencia streets. All the political leaders and Governors worked in this unassuming yet imposing building for the 82 years it stood. I am referring to the building called "Casa de Gobierno" (Government House).

When the district capital of southern Baja California was moved to La Paz in 1830, the various political leaders appointed by the Mexican Empire at the time, with Agustín de Iturbide or Agustín I, and subsequently by the various Presidents of the Republic, worked in different places in this town, some in their own private homes and others in leased premises. However, the desire to build a building that would be worthy of housing the seat of civil and military power in these Calisurean lands was always latent. In 1879, when the government and military leadership of the territory was under the command of Colonel Andrés L. Tapia, this military leader ordered a project that included a Government House as well as an Infantry Barracks. According to the documents found in the Baja California Sur Historical Archive "Pablo L. Martínez," this design included "the façade and sectional distribution: highlights the political leader's office, secretary, office, archive, guard corps, prevention, officers' and chiefs' pavilion, first-instance court, court archive, and corridor serving as barracks. In the center: a well and laundry, and in the left corner, at the back of the courtyard, a dungeon."

Once the necessary arrangements were made with the federal government and the financial resources were in place, construction of the building began, and it was completed and inaugurated in 1881 by the now political leader and military commander, General José María Rangel. A few days ago, I was reviewing the book "México pintoresco, artístico y monumental" by writer Manuel Rivera Cambas and I found a reproduction of a beautiful photograph taken in 1883 of this building. In front, one can appreciate the imprint of the "Máximo Velasco" garden, which was planted with a large number of young trees and fenced by a wooden fence. Behind it, the beautiful building can be seen two years after its inauguration, with the inscription "Casa de Gobierno" on the top of the façade; a little further down and on the left side, one can read "Gobierno político," and on the right side, "Tribunal superior."

Apparently, despite having been inaugurated, the building did not have the necessary interior equipment nor the respective divisions marked on the plans, so for several years this building could not be used. After a long list of slow-moving masons who were shaping the interior of the property, and with the furniture necessary arriving in dribs and drabs, it was not until January 1, 1888 that the powers of the South District of the Baja California Territory were able to settle in this location and continue with their management in a place more suitable to the needs of those times.

In an interesting description given by Professor Gilberto Ibarra Rivera in his book "La Paz. Ciudad y puerto Mexicano. Origen, Proceso histórico y Símbolos emblemáticos", he says the following about this building: "The main building's cut is in neoclassical style, raised on the edge of the sidewalk, a solid base known as an "estilóbato", from where the walls rise and the bases are located, from which the four columns that adorned the main door and the two columns located at the ends of the facade originated in the original building. The facade has thirteen openings that form its structure starting from the central door and symmetrically distributed, covered with six rectangular windows with two leaves on each side, built of wood, with horizontal grilles in the form of fixed shutters. They were aligned at the height of the bases that support the pillars of the main door. The window frame is formed by a frame in the shape of a rectangle, and above each window, crowned with a cornice connected by a curved molding on each side of the jambs, an arrangement that together forms one of the symmetrical views of the facade, complemented by the central part, where the main door is located, also made of wood, adorned with its respective jambs and lintel. Above this, we find a simple cornice that extends longitudinally along the facade. The lateral part of the facade continues with a window identical to the previous ones and with a smaller window that has two jambs topped with a semicircular arch on which a cornice is located, and in the upper part of this, the architrave extends, as in the front of the facade."

On each side of the door, double pilasters are presented, settled on bases. In this part of the building, there are some modifications compared to the original construction: between the longitudinal cornice and the main door, the name Casa de Gobierno is inscribed, and a balcony was also added, protected by an iron railing, located in the only annex, located on the rooftop, on whose wall, in front, there is a door with a jamb, which did not exist in the original building. Above this door, a cornice is observed; above it, a wall clock; on the sides, a series of four sculpted pennants; at the top, a Porfirian eagle and on the sides, the symbolic years: 1881 (inauguration) and 1981 (reconstruction). In the original building, at the base of the wall of this rooftop annex, CASA DE GOBIERNO was written. On either side of this space, the pilasters that come from the ground floor continue, but the exterior pilasters are cut off. In this rooftop annex, a triangular pediment rises, which in the original building had a Phrygian cap, which was eliminated. The pediment was the base of the flagpole. It has an entablature formed by the architrave, extended along the entire length of the facade, first a mold is extended and on it a double cornice arranged with dentils. Finally, there is an oblique support on each side that gives the appearance of supporting the site, but it is an ornamental support of an irregularly shaped piece on each side, arranged with straight channels on the surface of each one.

On the ground floor, upon entering through the entrance door, there is a distribution hall to the two wings and immediately at the back, there is a door that leads to the courtyard. To the left of the hall, a large space where government offices and the office of the political chief were located; to the right, along the room, were the offices of the Superior Court of Justice, and in each room, turning from east to west, were the offices of the officials. To the right of the hall, after entering the room, a spiral staircase was located that leads to the only room on the rooftop. This wing of the construction was occupied by the offices of the Superior Court of Justice. In the rest of the block, in front of the streets Independencia, Belisario Domínguez, and 5 de Mayo, the rest of the government offices were constructed and adapted, and at the same time, for a time, it was the headquarters of the garrison force of the plaza.

At this point, I will digress and comment that some years ago, a good friend of mine, Mr. Enrique Colado Maya, told me that in the forties, he accompanied his father, Mr. Ignacio Collado, to the room located on the top of the "Casa de Gobierno" with the purpose of reading the different precision instruments they had there to measure the "quality of time." He remembers there were thermometers, a barometer, a humidity meter, and other devices he no longer remembers. Once Don Ignacio finished this task, he went to the telegraph offices, of which he was the administrator, to religiously transmit them at 6:00 pm to Mexico City.

Over time, the building performed its functions very well, in addition to serving as the seat of political, military, and judicial power, it was also the site where telephonic communication began in this city. Many people remember the sounds of the machines that interconnected houses and businesses in the downtown area through telephones known as "crank phones." Professor Leonardo Reyes Silva and former governor Ángel César Mendoza Arámburo recall their walks through the interior courtyard of the building, among the beautiful garden that provided shade and freshness on summer days, as well as watching the telephone operators tirelessly plugging and unplugging cables on the electronic switchboard. However, like all buildings, the Government House required maintenance and refurbishment to maintain its dignity. Unfortunately, the lack of care by the current governors and the economic difficulties that the territory faced caused the building to look in very bad conditions in the early 1960s: peeling walls, broken windows, dried-out door and window frames destroyed by the sun, worn and stained floors, etc. To add to the troubles, the increase in the bureaucratic structure of the then-territory government made it almost impossible to house all the offices in this place, so the then-political and military chief, Gen. Bonifacio Salinas Leal, began the process of constructing a new seat for the Territory Executive Power.

Once the new "Government Palace" or "Quarry Palace," as the new building was called, was built on the grounds of what had been the city's airport, the furniture and documents that had remained in the "Government House" were moved to start working there. Unfortunately, in 1963, and without consulting the locals, Gen. Salinas Leal ordered the demolition of the octogenarian building, to the amazement of the people. He didn't care about the angry protests coming from the "Eco de California" newspaper. This man was used to doing whatever he pleased, and he didn't stop until he knocked down the last stone of this beautiful building and replaced it with a cinema. What an unfortunate and undeserved way to end a building where people of much greater worth and esteem than the one who delivered the final blow to this construction dealt with matters of great importance.

Over the years, winds of change arrived in our city and that old desire of seeing our southern Baja California become the free and sovereign state of Baja California Sur was finally fulfilled, with a Baja Californian at the helm who knew how to appreciate the works and embodied the values of these lands, Lic. Ángel César Mendoza Arámburo. With his election, resource management and planning began to revive those buildings that were demolished by the forgettable general. In the last year of his administration, the reconstruction of what was once the "Casa de Gobierno" was initiated. Unfortunately, resources were not enough, and only the facade was built, as well as the exhibition hall and offices, in the place that the political chief occupied years ago. A beautiful auditorium with a capacity of about 100 people was also constructed. For almost 20 years, the famous "Biblioteca de las Californias" functioned in this place, which boasted of containing one of the most comprehensive collections of books, in English and Spanish, on Baja California history. Recently, the Center for Arts, Traditions, and Popular Cultures of the State of B.C.S. was operating in this space, where a large number of exhibitions on various topics of great interest to the community could be appreciated. Currently, this venue is under renovation and will house what has been called the "Museo de Arte de La Paz" with a million-dollar investment in its infrastructure and equipment.

The Casa de Gobierno no longer exists, but in the memory and nostalgia of the inhabitants of this beautiful port, it will endure for many more years.

Bibliography:

“La Paz. Ciudad y puerto Mexicano. Origen, Proceso histórico y Símbolos emblemáticos” - Gilberto Ibarra Rivera.

“México pintoresco, artístico y monumental” - Manuel Rivera Cambas