[2] The museum is housed in a building that was formerly a pumping station for Lisbon's water supply.

Construction began in 1868 and in 1869 two steam engines made by an Anglo-French company, E. Windsor & Fils, were installed to power the pumping mechanism.

The building then functioned as a workshop until after the 1974 Carnation Revolution, when it was occupied by the Portuguese Communist Party.

Among the works exhibited are the paintings O fado by José Malhoa and Os fadistas (1873) by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro.

[4] An audio guide in Portuguese, English, French and Spanish was also made available to the museum's visitors.