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History indicates that the chapel of Santa Rosa de Lima Seminary School was on this site, south of Plaza Bolívar. The building witnessed significant historical events such as the rise of the Royal and Pontifical University of Caracas, the Constituent Congress and Signature of the Independence Act, and the functioning of the Caracas City Council. Its current appearance is a result of the interventions of two great architects. In 1872, with the seminary closed by Guzmán Blanco, Hurta-do Manrique reconstructed the building, conditioning it for the Justice Courts, the Distrito Federal governor’s office and the Police Headquarters; the chapel was converted into a meeting hall for the Municipal Council. In 1904, Cipriano Castro commissioned Alejandro Chataing with the last major reform, of neoclassic style, completed in 1906. The corner palace is organized around a central courtyard surrounded by corridors («patio of the lions») and a fountain. Its eclectic façade is made up of three planes. The access in the central plane is framed by composite double pilasters joined by fascias. Over the access is a balcony topped by a triangular frontispiece. The lower win-dows have low arches, and the upper ones balconies and an ornamental cornice. Restored in 2011, it is currently the seat of the Mayor of Libertador, houses the Museum of Caracas and is a National Historic Monument since 1979.
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