The Hos­pi­cio Cabanas was built at the begin­ning of the 19th cen­tu­ry to pro­vide care and shel­ter for the dis­ad­van­taged — orphans, old peo­ple, the hand­i­capped and chron­ic invalids. This remark­able com­plex, which incor­po­rates sev­er­al unusu­al fea­tures designed specif­i­cal­ly to meet the needs of its occu­pants, was unique for its time. It is also notable for the har­mo­nious rela­tion­ship between the open and built spaces, the sim­plic­i­ty of its design, and its size. In the ear­ly 20th cen­tu­ry, the chapel was dec­o­rat­ed with a superb series of murals, now con­sid­ered some of the mas­ter­pieces of Mex­i­can art. They are the work of Jose Clemente Oroz­co, one of the great­est Mex­i­can mural­ists of the peri­od.