Catedral de la Asunción, Hermosillo

Construction on the Catedral de la Asunción began in 1803 and dragged on, interrupted by funding shortfalls and political upheaval, until its consecration in 1899, making its neoclassical facade and twin bell towers a monument to nearly a full century of Hermosillo's growth from a presidio settlement into Sonora's permanent state capital. The cathedral faces Plaza Zaragoza, the city's central square, alongside the Palacio de Gobierno, forming the civic and religious heart of downtown Hermosillo. Inside, the cathedral's relatively restrained neoclassical interior, with its high vaulted nave and modest ornamentation, contrasts with the more heavily decorated baroque churches found further south in Mexico, reflecting the frontier character and later construction date of Sonoran colonial architecture. The plaza outside fills each evening with vendors, musicians and families, much as Mexican central plazas have functioned since the colonial era, and the cathedral's illuminated facade at night is one of downtown Hermosillo's most photographed scenes.