[1] The Royal Customs office was in charge of the regulation of imported merchandise into New Spain and taxing the same, becoming the largest source of revenue for the government.

The office originally was on 5 de febrero Street but was moved into the Villamayor house in 1676 because of its location next to Santo Domingo Plaza.

[2] Eventually, the Customs office in Mexico City closed and it was taken over by the Secretariat of Public Education in the early part of the 20th century.

[3] Despite its condition, the site was chosen because of its space and location next to Santo Domingo Plaza, which provided a place for people to wait.

[1] At the time, it was in the name of Francisca Maria Bellvis, Marquesa of Benvides and Villamayor, as the titleholder of the land grant established by Don Francisco de Pacheco y Vocanegra.

Today, only the exterior, the main stairs and the patios columns are originals with the rest eventually replaces under a number of repairs.

[2] Due to the continued growth of the Secretariat of Public Education in the early 20th century, the old Customs building was annexed to the agency along with a number of adjoining houses.

The main stairwell contains mural work by Siqueiros called “Patricios y Patricidas” (Patricians and Patricides), which was begun in the mid-1940s but was never finished.