The building was originally designed by the Bureau of Public Works (precursor of the
Department of Public Works and Highways) Consulting Architect Ralph Harrington Doane and Antonio Manalac Toledo in 1918, and was intended to be the future home of the
National Library of the Philippines, according to the
Plan of Manila of
Daniel H. Burnham. Meanwhile, a Capitol building for the
Philippine Legislature (established on October 16, 1916) was to rise on Wallace Field, just south of the library (the location is now María Y. Orosa Street in
Rizal Park). Instead, the Philippine Legislature decided to move into the Library building in 1926, and changes to the building's layout were done accordingly by architect
Juan M. Arellano. Most of the structure was beyond repair, except for the still-standing central portion. With the inauguration of the
Republic of the Philippines in 1946, the building was reconstructed to be the home of Congress. It was rebuilt by the U.S. Philippine War Damage Corporation to the same dimensions but with less interior and exterior ornamentation. Reconstruction began in 1949, while the Congress moved back the same year. The two wings of the building were completed in 1950. The building was rebuilt mostly from memory, with the aid of a few remaining blueprints. on June 30, 2022.|thumb The building became known as the
Congress Building, and continuously served as home of the
Congress of the Philippines until 1972 with the
declaration of martial law. The Congress was effectively dissolved, and the building was padlocked. For a short time, the building became home of the offices of the
Prime Minister of the Philippines, a position established under the 1973
Constitution of the Philippines, on the fourth floor, the
Ombudsman on the third floor, the
National Museum on the second floor, and the
Sandiganbayan on the ground floor. The building was called the
Executive House for the duration of that time. The
Congress of the Philippines was reestablished with the ratification of the 1987
Constitution of the Philippines. While the
House of Representatives moved to the
Batasang Pambansa Complex in Constitution Hill,
Quezon City, the
Senate used the original Congress Building for their plenary sessions. The Senate would use the Congress Building until May 1997, when it moved to the
Government Service Insurance System Building on reclaimed land on
Manila Bay in
Pasay. The former office of the Prime Minister was taken as the Office of the
Vice President. The building was then turned over to the
National Museum of the Philippines in 1998. On September 30, 2010, the
National Historical Commission of the Philippines declared the building as a "National Historical Landmark" by virtue of
Resolution No. 8 (dated September 30, 2010). A marker commemorating the declaration was unveiled on October 29, 2010. ==Collections==