After the Ciutadella was demolished in the mid-19th century, the building was used for various purposes, including a barracks, a royal palace and an art museum.

The palace was the meeting place of the Parliament of Catalonia from 1932 to 1939, when it was dissolved during the Spanish Civil War.

The architect Pere Falqués [es] was responsible for the alterations the building, which included opening three balconies at the first floor and the decoration of the entire façade.

The central part of the façade was also increased in height, and was decorated with a stone escutcheon relocated from the Porta del Socors, one of the gates of the former Ciutadella.

After Barcelona fell to the Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War, the building was converted into a barracks on 26 January 1939.

[2] The present parliament chamber was originally designed by Falqués as the Saló del Tron, the palace's Throne Room.