House of the First Print Shop in the Americas, Mexico City, Mexico

The House of the First Printing Press in the Americas at the corner of Moneda and Licenciado Primo Verdad streets in Mexico City was the home of the first printing press/print shop in the New World,. The printer Juan Pablos oversaw the printing of at least 35 books at this print shop between 1539, the date of the first book printed in the Americas, and his death in 1560.

The House of the First Printing Press in the Americas cultural dissemination center is located in the Historic Center of Mexico City, in a building that was granted to the UAM as a loan by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. Considering its historical framework, vocation and location, this center focuses on promoting cultural and continuing education activities related to the universe of the word and the printed image: publications, graphic arts, literature and editorial production, as well as to preserve the traditions of Mexican culture.

The house was originally constructed by Gerónimo de Aguilar in 1524 and is located on the outer edge of what was the sacred precinct of the Templo Mayor prior to the Conquest.

After receiving permission from Spanish king Carlos V and the archbishop of Mexico City, Juan de Zumárraga had a printing press brought from Europe in 1539. The press was set up in this house, then called the “Casa de las Campanas” (House of the Bells) by the Seville-based publisher Juan Cromberger with Italian printer Juan Pablos who worked for living expenses for ten years. They began printing viceregal- and Church-related documents. One of these documents was a catechism entitled “The Brief and Most Concise Christian Doctrine in the Mexican Language” written by the archbishop himself.

After its stint as a print shop, the house changed hands numerous times and used for a number of purposes. In the 17th century, it belonged to the Monastery of Santa Teresa de la Orden de las Carmelas Reformadas and later, in the 18th century it belonged to the Royal Military Order of Nuestra Señora de la Merced Redención de Cautivos de la Ciudad de México. In 1847, U.S. troops occupied the house, destroying the archives that were within. The house was then owned by a number of civilians, including one who used the building to store furniture. In the 20th century, the building was mostly used for offices, including being the home to a paper and printing services operation called the “Imprenta y Papelería Militar “Marte”” The house continued to change hands until 1989, when the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (UAM) bought the house with the intention of restoring it.

UAM worked with the Historic Center Restoration Program, working with the Instituto Nacional de Antropología. About 82 cm below the surface of the ground floor the stone head of a serpent from Aztec times was discovered. It is possible that this head was visible to the occupants of the building in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Today, the house serves as the Continuing Education Center for UAM with various exhibition rooms, a bookstore and facilities for conferences and courses. In 2008, the Book Museum opened here, with some of the oldest books in Mexico on display.

Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana(UAM)
The Metropolitan Autonomous University (Spanish: Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana) also known as UAM, is a Mexican public university, founded in 1974, with the support of then-President Luis Echeverria Alvarez. The institution aims to be closely linked to the social and human environment

As an autonomous university is a public agency of the State (Article 3 of the Organic Law of the UAM), based on the principles of academic freedom and research, and inspired by all the currents of thought.

The institution is one of the top greater academic universities in Mexico. In 2015, the third best university in public office and fourth including private; is the second in Mexico in having a larger number of research professors with doctoral full-time, according to the Comparative Study of Mexican Universities (Estudio Comparativo de Universidades Mexicanas); having the second largest number of built in National and Research System (Sistema Nacional de Investigadores) the second in having researchers at Level 3 of the same researchers. One of the leading universities in Mexico to submit the highest number of research. And the second institution to have publications in refereed journals, such as the Institute for Scientific Information, Latindex and journals included in the Index of Mexican Journals of Scientific and Technological Research of the National Council of Science and Technology (Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología) and the second to have magazines within the Conacyt, it is also among the top four with the largest number of patents granted in Mexico.

It has five academic units located in Mexico City and Greater Mexico City: Azcapotzalco, in north, Iztapalapa, in east, Cuajimalpa, in west, Xochimilco, in south, and Lerma in State of Mexico.