On the land where the palace now stands, an imperial parliament, where the Brazilian Senate and Chamber were held while the country was still a Portuguese colony, was constructed in 1640.
The lower floor contained a prison, known as Cadeia Velha, or the Old Prison. Prisoners of the Crown were held there, including Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, popularly known as Tiradentes and one of the leaders of the inconfidência mineira, who was imprisoned there before he was sent to the gallows in 1792. According to some sources, he was held prisoner for three years in Cadeia Velha. Other sources believe he was held on Ilha das Cobras.
With the arrival of the royal family in Brazil, the Chamber’s headquarters was transferred to Rosário Street and the prison was moved. The building was used as the royal servants’ quarters, as it was an annex to Dom João VI’s palace.
After 1822, the building again headquartered the legislature, first the General Constituent Assembly and later the Chamber of Deputies, which remained there until 1914.
The building of the imperial parliament was demolished in 1922, and made way for Tiradentes Palace, an emblematic building designed in the Eclectic style by Archimedes Memoria and Francisque Couchet and inaugurated in May, 1926. Inside, guests can visit a permanent multimedia exhibition, entitled: Tiradentes Palace: Heritage Site of the Legislative Branch.
In 1939, during the Vargas administration, the building was the headquarters of the Department of Press and Propaganda (DIP), responsible for propagating official discourse and censuring journals, radios, and TV.
With the end of Vargas’ Estado Novo, it again housed the Chamber of Deputies, and remained thus until the capital was transferred to Brasilia in 1960.
Today, Tiradentes Palace is home of the Rio de Janeiro State Legislative Assembly (ALERJ), one of the main protest spots for the population.