En la Mérida del siglo XIX y comienzos del XX destaca la figura de Antonio Ignacio Picón Grillet (1838-1916). Comerciante, escritor, editor e inventor, descendiente de una de las familias de la colonia, que rompió con la tradición política y militar de sus antecesores (Diego Rodríguez Picón, Antonio Ignacio Rodríguez Picón, Gabriel Picón González, Francisco Picón González y Juan de Dios Picón González, este último su padre) para realizar las más variadas actividades relacionadas con la economía y la cultura tanto de Mérida como de Maracaibo. Analizar los aspectos fundamentales de su vida es el propósito de este artículo, sobre una importante base documental hasta ahora desconocida y los pocos escritos que sobre el personaje se hicieron en su tiempo a través de la prensa, considerándose la trascendencia que tuvieron esas actividades para la ciudad. De igual manera, este trabajo se orienta a llamar la atención sobre la necesidad del rescate y divulgación de su obra historiográfica y la puesta en valor cultural de la casa centro de su actuación en Mérida conocida como “La Esquina de La Torre”, como patrimonio histórico-arquitectónico de la ciudad.111-136mariasobeira@yahoo.comsemestralIn Mérida in the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, the prominent figure of Antonio Ignacio Picón Grillet (1836-1916) stands out. Merchant, writer, editor and inventor, a descendant of a colonial family, who broke with the political and military tradition of his predecessors (Diego Rodriguez Picón, Antonio Ignacio Rodríguez Picón, Gabriel Picón González, Francisco Picón González and Juan de Dios Picón González, the latter being his father) in order to carry out the most varied activities related to the economy and culture both in Mérida and Maracaibo. This article proposes to analyze the fundamental aspects of his life on the basis of an important number of documents which until now have been unknown and also the few written works about him that appeared in the press during his lifetime, taking into account the transcendental importance these activities had to the city. In addition, the article is intended to call attention to the necessity of rescuing and making known his historiographical work as well as to assert the cultural value of the house known as the “Corner of the Tower,” which was the center of his activities in Mérida, and to classify it as historical and architectural patrimony of the city.