It was not originally designed for this purpose but as a penitentiary for the former Seventh Canton of Jalisco. It is considered the finest neoclassical work in the city.

The palace has two floors framed by a cornice that runs along all four facades. On the upper floor, its main balcony stands out with Ionic columns, flanked by five balconies on each side.

The first floor was completed by 1870, and the construction of the second floor began in 1883, concluding in 1885.

The central part of the building features a large pediment with a clock, and inside, there is a set of seven barrel-vaulted nave bays that join in the center of a small courtyard, a typical layout for prison constructions of that time.

Visitors can take a tour of the building to admire its characteristic columns of the Tuscan order and observe the entrance to the seven ancient cell blocks adorned with impressive frescoes.