Situated in the emblematic Praça de Santiago, this 19th-century building has been contributing to the cultural enrichment of the city, given the diversity of events that can take place in its spaces.
The Palacete de Santiago is a building that was built close to the heart of the medieval city, in Praça de Santiago, next to the old Paços do Concelho (Town Hall) and near the Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira. The Palacete was built in the middle of the 19th century, in the context of the triumphant liberalism, and it reflects the social promotion of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie that was ascending in the city. Originally built to be a family house, it was occupied from 1872 to 1878 by the Banco the Guimarães, where Alberto Sampaio, the patron of the Museum, worked.
Later, it belonged to the Banco Comercial de Guimarães and, in 1891, with the restoring of the Insigne e Real Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira, the small seminário-liceu (seminary-school) of Our Lady of the Olive Tree was installed there, being inaugurated on 29 November by king Dom Carlos and having remained there until 1893. In 1912, the building was sold to an individual and, in 1971, it was rented by the City Hall to temporarily house the Centro de Saúde (Health Centre). After restoration works, it was inaugurated as an extension of the Museu de Alberto Sampaio, on 26 June 2014.