Government House has faced the Plaza de la Constitución from 48 King Street since about 1710. The building you face is built of coquina and has served as the governor’s official residence from about 1710 during the First Spanish Period (1565–1763), through the British Period (1763–1784), and into the Second Spanish Period until 1812 (1784–1821). Governor Gonzalo Méndez de Canzo was the first to build his residence on this site in 1598, and a new structure rose here in 1706 to serve as residence, office, courthouse, and the social center of town.
The east wing you can see dates to that original construction between 1706 and 1713. After the 1763 Treaty of Paris, Florida passed into British ownership, and this house became the official residence of James Grant, the British royal governor of East Florida from 1764 to 1771. Among his guests were American explorer Daniel Boone, who came to inquire about land purchases, and Patrick Tonyn, later appointed Grant’s successor.
Picture Governor Méndez de Canzo, then James Grant, and even Daniel Boone passing through these coquina walls facing the plaza.