The Casa de los Azulejos, or House of the Tiles, developed from residences owned by the titled family of the counts of the Valley of Orizaba in the center of Mexico City. The palace was substantially rebuilt in the colonial period and later altered as streets and uses changed. Its famous blue-and-white Puebla tiles cover the exterior façades, transforming an elite urban home into one of the capital's most recognizable examples of New Spanish domestic architecture.

Stone balconies, carved frames, tiled surfaces, interior courtyards, columns, stairs, fountains, and service rooms expressed wealth and family standing. Construction depended on Indigenous and mixed-race artisans, quarry workers, tile makers, masons, carpenters, carriers, servants, and suppliers within the unequal economy of New Spain. The imported and local elements should not be described as a simple European style: the building reflects technologies, materials, tastes, and labor networks formed in colonial Mexico.

After elite residential use declined, the property accommodated changing commercial and social institutions, including baths, a club, and labor-related activity. Street widening in the early twentieth century required a new façade, demonstrating how infrastructure reshaped the historic center. Each adaptation modified circulation and interiors while the tiled exterior became increasingly valued as civic heritage. The building's survival resulted partly from continued use rather than preservation as an untouched palace.

Sanborns established a pharmacy, soda fountain, restaurant, and store in the building beginning in 1918 or 1919. The courtyard was roofed with stained glass and converted into a dining space. José Clemente Orozco painted Omniscience on the stair landing in 1925, while another mural and later commercial fittings added new artistic layers. These features make the property a twentieth-century cultural landmark as well as a colonial residence.

The Casa de los Azulejos is significant for its tiled façades, colonial elite history, craftsmanship, urban adaptation, mural art, and long commercial public life. Interpretation should distinguish documented building phases and include artisans, domestic servants, commercial workers, and patrons alongside titled owners. Conservation must address earthquakes, pollution, tile detachment, stone, moisture, stained glass, murals, fire, kitchens, utilities, and constant foot traffic. Active use protects the building only when maintenance respects its layered fabric. Building archaeology, business archives, and conservation records can clarify the often-conflicting dates attached to the palace's reconstruction and tiling. Public interpretation should present those uncertainties directly. Because the courtyard remains a busy restaurant, staff training and routine maintenance are part of preservation, while access to murals and architectural details should not depend entirely on purchasing food or merchandise.