The Edward J. Roye Building on Capitol Hill is one of the most prominent colonial-era government structures remaining in Monrovia. The building served various administrative functions through Liberia's history and carries the name of one of the country's more controversial early presidents — a man who sought closer economic ties with Britain, borrowed heavily, and was overthrown by his own government.
The building and the surrounding Capitol Hill area contain the highest concentration of 19th and early 20th century colonial architecture in the country. Much of it is in various states of repair after the civil wars, giving the neighbourhood a ghostly, half-restored quality that is unlike anywhere else in West Africa. Walking the hill is the best way to understand the ambitions of Liberia's founding settler class.