Construction from the designs of the Cuban engineer and architect, Antonio Fernández de Trebejos y Zaldívar, who had already been responsible for the much-admired post office, commenced in 1776.

Much of the material used in the construction was imported to ensure it was of the finest quality: the bricks from Málaga, wrought-iron grilles from Bilbao and marble from Genoa, but the building work was carried out by slaves and progressed so slowly that the new governor (the sixth since de Fondesviela), Luis de las Casas y Aragorri, was not able to occupy the building until 1791, and work was not completed until 1792.

It was used as the presidential palace of the Cuban Republic from 1902 until 1920, when the president relocated to the building which now houses the Museum of the Revolution and the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales became once again the offices of the city council.

Also on display are some of the original stone baths in the shape of a nautilus shell and a 19th-century fire engine manufactured in London.

The building also houses the Office of the City Historian, headed by Eusebio Leal, which is responsible for the restoration of Old Havana.