Archivo Histórico de Medellín AHM

History and Founding

The Archivo Histórico de Medellín (AHM) was formally created by Municipal Decree 1,258 of December 1993. For approximately three years prior, it existed as a project to identify and gather the dispersed documentary records of municipal administration. In 1994, Decree 1219 Bis transferred custody of all documentation from the colonial period through 1984 to the newly established historical archive. The archive has received recognition from UNESCO for its preservation and dissemination work.

Collections and Holdings

The AHM holds the documentary patrimony produced by six key municipal institutions: the Concejo (city council, from 1675 to 1994), the Alcaldía (mayoral office, 1840–1985), the Personería (municipal ombudsman, 1890–1985), the Instituto Metropolitano de Valorización INVAL (1939–1990), the Corporación de Vivienda y Desarrollo Social CORVIDE (1956–2000), and the Radioperiódico Clarín (scripts and news bulletins, 1959–1988). The archive also holds a collection of approximately 70,000 architectural and urban planning drawings of the city, amounting to more than 2,000 linear meters of documents in total.

Notable Materials Related to Journalism and Media

Among the archive's most distinctive holdings is the fund of the Radioperiódico Clarín, the only privately originated fund in the collection. It comprises over 852 volumes of news scripts from radio broadcasts between 1959 and 1988, offering a unique record of Medellín's media history and public discourse during that era. The colonial-era Concejo records from 1675 onward include the oldest surviving documents in the city's history.

Access and Usage

The archive is housed in a historic colonial-era building at Calle 50 #43–64 in central Medellín. It offers consultation services for academics, professors, students, and general researchers. A restoration laboratory, established in 2009, is one of the most advanced of its kind in Colombia. Online digital access is also available through the archive's portal.