This is the building that houses the Presidential Secretariat of Sri Lanka. The Neo-Baroque-style building was built during the British colonial era to house the Legislative Council of Ceylon, and was an idea of Sir Henry McCallum. This was subsequently included in a proposal made by a committee to construct the new building for the Secretariat, Council Chamber and Government offices on reclaimed land at the northern end of Galle Face, which was approved by the Government in 1920. Austin Woodeson, chief architect of the Public Works Department of Ceylon, was tasked with the building’s design; his initial estimate of 400,000 rupees for the scheme was later revised by the Public Works Advisory Board to 450,000. The building was opened on 29 January 1930 by Governor Sir Herbert Stanley; a year later it was taken over by the State Council of Ceylon for its use, who were tenants of the building until 1947.