As part of his mad dash toward modernization in the 1870s, Guzmán Blanco commissioned an ambitious, neoclassical seat of congress, the National Assembly, to occupy the entire block just southwest of Plaza Bolívar. It was formerly known as the Capitolio Nacional. The two-building complex was erected on the site of a convent; its occupants were promptly expelled by the dictator and their convent razed. It's open to the public on the weekend.
