Central Acropolis residential palaces
Access to the Central Acropolis is through Structure 5D-120, a multi-chambered and multi-storied residential complex facing the south side of Temple I. This is where Tikal's Classic Period rulers lived.
view from small ballcourt
George Kubler, commenting on the architecture of the Peten, writes:
Columnar supports, whether cylindrical or rectangular, are absent in the Peten. Only heavy piers, really portions of wall, separate the doorways of multi-chambered buildings. The builders were chiefly interested in the massive design of space, and the doorways were minor incidents in the sculptural treatment of the facades.
Kubler, The Art and Architecture of Ancient America, p. 207
Palaces overlook the Great Plaza
The palaces and courtyards of the Central Acropolis were used as a residential complex by Tikal's Classic Period rulers, who lived within the sacred precincts of Temples I and II, and the once massive but now demolished temple Str. 5D-33-1st. These three temple formed a massive Triadic Complex, an architectural arrangement with roots in the Pre-Classic period of a thousand years earlier.
Royal multi-residential complex
Str. 5D-120 was a two-story royal multi-residential complex of courtyards and palaces. Here in this second and highest court of the Acropolis [Court 2], one encounters several of the best preserved palaces to be found in the entire complex.