Colonial Building

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Colonial Building
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Location	Military Road St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
Country	Canada
Coordinates	47°34′15.34″N 52°42′24.44″W / 47.5709278°N 52.7067889°W / 47.5709278; -52.7067889
Construction started	24 May 1847
Cost	£18,335
Design and construction
Architect(s)	James Purcell
Engineer	Patrick Keough

The Colonial Building is a historic government building located in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The building was the home of the colonial and later provincial Newfoundland government and the House of Assembly from January 28, 1850 to July 28, 1959. In 1974, it was declared a Provincial Historic Site.

In 1832 when the Colony of Newfoundland governed itself by representative government there was not a formal building assigned to house the legislature. The first home of the legislature was a tavern and lodging house on Duckworth Street owned and operated by a Mrs. Mary Travers.^[1] The stay was brief as in the legislature's haste and inexperience it forgot to vote approval for the funds to pay rent. The first building was destroyed in city fire of 1846.^[1] For the next seventeen years they would meet in various temporary quarters including the local courthouse. In 1846 an act was approved authorizing the construction of the Colonial Building as a permanent home.

On May 24, 1847, the cornerstone was laid by the Governor, Major-General Sir John Gaspar Le Marchant. The official opening of the Colonial Building took place on January 28, 1850, by Governor Le Marchant for the second session of the House's fourth general assembly.