The museum is housed in what used to be the Temple and Ex-Convent of El Carmen.

Both were built between 1615 and 1617 by the Order of Discalced Carmelites, who owned land that extended from Chimalistac to San Jacinto. The area had two rivers, Chico and Magdalena, which created a landscape with beautiful orchards that attracted the aristocracy, who built their country houses here. 

The notable features of the austere complex are the domes and the bell tower, one of which corresponds to the transept, and the other two to the side chapels. 

The temple is still open for public worship, and it houses a beautiful image of the mother of the Virgin Mary, as it was once dedicated to Saint Anne. 

The spaces of the ex-convent permanently display the collection "The Silence of the Carmelites," which tells the history of a monastery and includes paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries, sculptures, and liturgical objects.

Additionally, visitors can explore the New Spanish house, a noble house from the viceregal era with all its rooms decorated with objects from that time. 

It showcases colonial-era furniture and religious art by masters Cristóbal de Villalpando and Juan Correa.

One of the museum's attractions is a meticulously decorated crypt where the mummies of some 19th-century nuns and monks rest. The temple is still open for public worship, and it houses a beautiful image of the mother of the Virgin Mary, as it was once dedicated to Saint Anne. 

The temple is still open for public worship, and it houses a beautiful image of the mother of the Virgin Mary, as it was once dedicated to Saint Anne.