San Ildefonso College. San Ildefonso College currently is a museum and cultural center in Mexico City, considered to be the birthplace of the Mexican muralism movement. San Ildefonso began as a prestigious Jesuit boarding school, and after the Reform War it gained educational prestige again as National Preparatory School. This school and the building closed completely in 1978, then reopened as a museum and cultural center in 1992. The museum has permanent and temporary art and archeological exhibitions in addition to the many murals painted on its walls by José Clemente Orozco, Fernando Leal, Diego Rivera and others. The complex is located between San Ildefonso Street and Justo Sierra Street in the historic center of Mexico City. The college was founded 1588 and it is composed of six sections, that are five colonial baroque: the Colegio Grande, Colegio Chico, the chapel, El Generalito and the courtyard of los Pasantes, all completed in 1749; and one modern neo-baroque: the Amphitheater Bolívar completed in 1911. The Jesuits arrived in Mexico in 1572. With evangelization of the native population mostly complete in central Mexico, this order soon turned to establishing schools, especially schools for Creole youth. They founded numerous colleges both in Mexico City and the outlying provinces, but the most important of these was San Ildefonso, founded in 1588. In 1618, it merged with the old San Pedro y San Pablo College, which was nearly in ruins, and gained a royal seal from Philip III of Spain. Although administered by Jesuits, the education here was not solely dedicated to religious matters. San Ildefonso was not a college in the modern sense of the word, but rather more like a boarding residence and school. Young men lived and studied at the school, which did offer classes, but San Ildefonso's students were also enrolled in the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico, taking classes there and with the old faculty of San Pedro y San Pablo. In the early 18th century, student population at the school had grown such that building expansion was needed. Work was begun on extending the building in 1712 and completed in 1749. This section of the complex is now known as the Colegio Chico as opposed to the original section, called the Colegio Grande. The facade of both sections, which faces San Ildefonso Street, was constructed around this time as well. The school reached its height in the 18th century, becoming one of the most important educational institutions in Mexico City, along with the university. However, the Jesuits were expelled from all Spanish lands in 1767, including Mexico, by Charles III. Operation of the school was then given to non-monastic clergy, and the school declined. The building continued to function as the San Ildefonso College between 1767 and 1867, but it was also used for other purposes, such as housing soldiers from the Flandes Regiment, being a temporary site of the Jurisprudence School, and housing several departments of the School of Medicine. During the Mexican American War and the French intervention, United States and French troops used this building as barracks. Main article: Escuela Nacional Preparatoria The old Jesuit school had almost completely fallen into ruin by the time of the Reform Laws in the 1860s. These Laws secularized most of Church property, including the San Ildefonso College building. In 1867, Benito Juárez began reform of the educational system, taking it out of clerical hands and making it a government function. San Ildefonso was converted into the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria, or National Preparatory School, initially directed by Gabino Barreda, who organized the new school on the Positivist model of Auguste Comte. The initial purpose of the school was to provide the nucleus of students for the soon-to-be-reconstructed Universidad Nacional, later National Autonomous University of Mexico, which was re-established in 1910 by Justo Sierra. The new preparatory school began functioning at the San Ildefonso building with more than 700 day students and 200 live-in students. The complex remained a separate entity until 1929, when the Universidad Nacional gained autonomy, meaning it became independent of the government, though still government-sponsored. The Preparatory School became part of the newly independent university system, being designated as Preparatory #1 for a short time. As part of the student revolts of 1968, some students hid inside the building, which resulted in an occupation by the Mexican Army, who entered the building by shooting a bazooka round on its 18th-century-old front door.