The building is a contributing property in the Barrio De Analco Historic District and currently serves as the headquarters of the New Mexico Tourism Department.

St. Michael's College was established at the behest of Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Lamy, who had arrived in New Mexico in 1851 to find that formal schooling in the territory was nonexistent.

After establishing the Loretto Academy for girls in 1852, Lamy recruited the De La Salle Christian Brothers to open a similar school for boys, and St. Michael's held its first classes in the fall of 1859.

[4] In 1926, the wooden upper story was destroyed by a fire, reducing the building to its present two-story height.

[6] The original wooden third floor had a mansard roof with evenly spaced dormer windows, a gambrel-roofed cross-gable above the main entrance, and a tall tower.