The Museum of Image and Sound was inaugurated September 3rd, 1965, as part of the commemorations of the IV Centennial of the city of Rio de Janeiro. As well as being a center for the documentation of music and image, it was also a center for the cultural vanguard in the 1960s and 70s.
The building on Praça XV, designated a heritage site in 1989, was constructed to host the Independence Centenary Exhibition, held in 1922. In 1990, the building underwent a significant restoration which brought back its original style, which had been disfigured by the interventions that had altered its façade over the years.