The building at 216 Tran Quang Khai street (the former National Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution) was constructed in 1917 as the headquarters of the Indochina Department of Trade. In 1954, when the North was liberated, the Government Council led by President Ho Chi Minh decided to transform this building into a new Museum of the Vietnamese Revolution, which would showcase Vietnamese history from the mid-19th century to the present day. After 5 years of planning and development, the Museum was officially opened to the public on 6 January 1959.