Built in 1813 as a matching structure for the Cabildo, which flanks the cathedral on the other side, it is one of the nation's best examples of formal colonial Spanish architecture (with many neo-Renaissance elements).

It is a two-story brick building, originally built with a flat roof that had a balustrade topped by urns.

The center three bays on both levels have engaged columns on either side, and are topped as a group by a gabled pediment.

[4] The Presbytère was designed in 1791 by the French-born Gilberto Guillemard to match the Cabildo, or Town Hall, on the other side of St. Louis Cathedral.

Originally called the Casa Curial (‘Ecclesiastical House’), its name derives from the fact that it was built on the former site of the residence of the Capuchin friars and presbytery (rectory, presbytère in French).