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Baja California’s Newest Cultural Heritage Designations
By Maria E Curry
September/October 2023
 The 1922 State Government building, now UABC Rectoría, features a European classical-inspired design. This 100-year-old icon was designated a cultural resource in December 2022. The University of Baja California in Mexicali houses its main administrative functions here. Photo from the UABC Gaceta, courtesy of Leonardo Gamez
 This undated aerial photo shows the 1922 old government building from the Baja California Distrito Norte (later Baja California state) surrounded by gardens. Today, the structure houses the UABC Rectoría amid an urban design. Photo courtesy the City of Mexicali history archive |
 El Monumento a los Defensores de Baja California was built in 1952 in response to a community petition to honor the heroes who died defending Baja California in 1911 during the Mexican Revolution. The design is simple, with a Googie style appeal and located on one of Tijuana’s main streets, Boulevard Agua Caliente. Engineer Jorge Fitch was the designer. Photo courtesy the Archivo Histórico de Baja California |
 Xicotencatl elementary school was beautifully constructed of adobe and wood a century ago. Located about 14 miles from central Mexicali, the school served its rural community for many decades. Now closed, it is well preserved and cherished by many. Photo courtesy the Archivo Histórico del Estado |
Baja California Governor Marina del Pilar Avila Olmedo recently designated three resources as cultural heritage under the 1995 preservation law, Ley de Preservación del Patrimonio Cultural de Baja California.
First, the old Government Palace, now used as the University of Baja California administration building known as UABC Rectoria, in downtown Mexicali. It was built in 1922 by Henry Clark Company and designed by Mexican architect José Solórzano. The two-story structure bears an eclectic style with neoclassical elements crowned by a small triangular pediment. The symmetrical facade is divided in three parts. The central entrance has three arched openings with three rectangular windows and semicircular balconies above them. Five plaster ornamented rectangular windows run along the walls flanking the main entrance. A patio and a monumental stair embellish the open-air interior. Building materials include reinforced concrete with columns embedded in walls and flat roofs using the famous Turner or Spiral Mushroom System. (Designated in December 2022).
Second, El Monumento a los Defensores de Baja California (Monument to the Defenders of Baja California, 1952) on Avenida Agua Caliente, Tijuana, is the work of engineer Jorge Ruiz Fitch. This simple, modern Googie style monument commemorates the men and women who defended the state from the 1911 invasion by sympathizers of Ricardo and Enrique Flores Magón. The Magón brothers were Mexican Revolution leaders fighting the dictatorial Porfirio Diaz regime. Although the Magones were not in Baja California during the battles, people associated with them (Magonistas), including Mexican and American anarchists, fought to make the peninsula independent from Mexico. Some of the heroes who died lie buried here. A concrete stair leads to the tall concrete structure, which is decorated with the Mexican flag symbol of an eagle and serpent and a 1911 commemorative sign. (Designated in April 2023).
Finally, the 1923 Escuela Xicotencatl, an elementary school in Colonia Cerro Prieto in rural Mexicali, is distinguished by its unique architectural design and remarkably preserved beauty. This now vacant, one-level rectangular building features adobe walls covered with plaster, a porch entrance supported by wood columns, rectangular windows, and a hip and gable roof. The centennial building is especially meaningful to the Mexicali community. (Designated in June 2023).
Although Baja California now has only 21 cultural heritage designations, the state government is working constantly with residents to expand this number to better protect the state’s heritage.
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