Originally made with a timber frame roof and ghut gravel, the old administration building at the Sir Olva Georges Plaza was completed in 1866, according to a plaque that hangs on an outside wall.
Since then, it has been used by government agencies including the Governor’s Office, the Chief Minister’s Office, the Treasury, customs, the post office, and the High Court Registry.
“Evidence suggests that the Legislative Council met here from 1867-1902,” the plaque states, adding that the upper storey was destroyed by fire on April 9, 2001.
From 1954 to 1961, the territory’s then-commissioner crowned festival queens from the building’s patio, according to another plaque.
A third plaque elaborates on the building’s annex: “The lower floor was added in the late 1950’s at the cost of US$6,000, financed by a windfall of US$20,000 from the sale of postage stamps in 1957-1958. At that time, postage stamps were a principal source of revenue for the territory. This annex was built under the supervision of Clarence M. Christian who was then surveyor of works in the Public Works Department.”