It was designed by the architect Theo Lawson as a speculative project under the CIA-Lagos (formerly the Creative Intelligence Agency and now the Cultural Intellectual Association) in 1999.Monuments in the park reveal the Lagos colonial heritage and history of Her Majesty's Broad Street prisons.The park serves as a National Memorial, a Historical landmark, a Cultural site, Arts and Recreation centre.[5] The initial prison structure was built in 1882 with mud walls and grass thatch but did not last long because of sabotage from colonial government opponents.Broad Street Prison was pulled down in 1979 and was reduced to a dumping ground until the 1990s when plans were drawn up to transform the site into a creative space.