Originally, it served as the headquarters of the Royal Jail of Caracas and the City Council but, after being reformed, it was used as the government palace and official residence of presidents including Francisco Linares Alcántara and Cipriano Castro.[3] The House of the Cabildo was the location of the protests of 19 April 1810, when canon José Cortés de Madariaga stood on its balconies and signalled the people of Caracas to disavow Captain General Vicente Emparan, in what is known as the first step to Venezuelan Independence.The remodelling works were directed by the architect Juan Hurtado Manrique, who built the 1810 City Hall memorial pavilion on the south side.During the 1900 San Narciso earthquake of 28 October, the second president to inhabit the House, Cipriano Castro, jumped into the street with an umbrella from one of his balconies and suffered a broken ankle,[8] which lead him to consider changing from an official residence to a building with anti-seismic structure.[9] Finally, by decree issued on 28 October 1912 by President Juan Vicente Gómez, the building was converted into the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.