History of White Hall: White Hall (1904)

​White Hall, originally called Rosenweg, the largest of the private homes on Maraval Road, was built in 1904 by Joseph Leon Agostini, a cocoa planter. Construction commenced in 1904 in accordance with Mr. Agostini’s own design, influenced by a Moorish Mediterranean style and reminiscent of the architecture of Corsica from where the Agostini family originated. Construction took three years.
After J. L. Agostini's death in 1906 his family remained in residence until 1910. Unable to meet mortgage payments, the mortgagee, William Gordon Grant, foreclosed. Thee property was then sold to Mr. Robert Henderson, an American businessman from Venezuela. During his ownership, a delightful variety in the furnishings of the interior was added to the refined dignity of the exterior. The Henderson family renamed it White Hall after the white coral stone from which it is built.
During the Second World War, with the arrival of the United States Forces in Trinidad, White Hall was commandeered from the Siegert family, heirs of Robert Henderson, as the headquarters of the Air Raid Precaution. In 1944, the British Council rented the building as a cultural centre. Later, the Trinidad Central Library, Regional Library, National Archives, Government Broadcasting Unit, Trinidad Art Society and the Cellar Club all rented or occupied space in the building. From 1949, the building remained empty until 1954, when it was purchased by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
In 1957 White Hall was occupied by the Pre-Federal Interim Government prior to the establishment of the West Indies Federation in 1958. In 1963, it became the Office of the Prime Minister occupied by the Hon. Dr. Eric Williams, Trinidad and Tobago's first Prime Minister after Independence.
Restored in 2000, White Hall continued to be occupied by the Office of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago until 2009.
Further restoration was completed in August 2019 . (Source: Angelo Bissessarsingh's Virtual Museum of Trinidad and Tobago, May 10, 2025. Credit to author Geoffrey MacLean)