[note 1] The legation was established on May 17, 1821, following decades of cordial relations between the U.S. and Morocco; Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah had issued a proclamation recognizing U.S. independence from Great Britain on December 20, 1777, making his nation the first to do so.

After Morocco's diplomatic capital moved to Rabat in 1956, the building served a variety of government functions, before gradually falling into neglect and disrepair.

This complex structure contains the two-story mud and stone building presented to the United States in 1821 by Sultan Moulay Suliman.

Today the Tangier American Legation Museum Society rents the structure, which is still owned by the United States government.

TALIM's community outreach programs include Arabic literacy courses for women living in the Tangier medina.