Located at the base of the Monument to Martí in the historic Plaza de la Revolución José Martí, it is considered to be the highest spot in all of Havana.
It was inaugurated on 27 January 1996. Designed in the shape of a star, it is a historical-cultural center with 5 halls; the first two halls are devoted to showing the life and work of José Martí and the third hall exhibits images and documents related to the building of the Square. The fourth hall is a theater and the fifth hall houses temporary exhibitions.
Presiding over the complex is a gigantic seated statue of The Apostle José Martí, surrounded by six luminous columns that are covered with low reliefs depicting civic scenes, and representing the six provinces existing in Cuba in those days. The marble tower is 109 meters high.
This building serves as the headquarters of the Presidency, Council of Ministers and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba. It is the main building in the Plaza de la Revolución complex.
Originally the building was meant to house the Supreme Court and the Office of the Attorney General.
In 1965, the revolutionary government established in Cuba after the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in January of 1959 ordered that the headquarters of the Government and State be moved to this site; previously it had been housed in the Presidential Palace, today’s Museum of the Revolution.