Government College, founded in 1864, is the most distinguished educational institution in Punjab and the alma mater of an astonishing roll-call of Pakistani and Indian writers, politicians, and Nobel laureates — Allama Iqbal, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Saadat Hasan Manto, Abdus Salam, Manmohan Singh, and Khushwant Singh all walked through its red-brick Gothic arches.
The main building, designed by W. Purdon in 1876, is one of the most impressive colonial-era buildings in Lahore — a long Gothic facade with a central clock tower facing onto Lower Mall. The campus is open to visitors during daytime; the small museum near the entrance is occasionally open.