A magnificent three-storey wooden building at the edge of the Botanic Gardens, Castellani House was designed in 1879 by Cesar Castellani, the Maltese architect responsible for several of Georgetown's most distinctive Victorian structures. With its gabled roof, scalloped trim, and shaded verandahs, it is one of the city's purest examples of nineteenth-century tropical colonial architecture.
The building now houses the National Art Collection, Guyana's principal public gallery. The collection focuses on Guyanese artists — Aubrey Williams, Stanley Greaves, Philip Moore, and contemporary painters and sculptors. Exhibitions rotate, and the upstairs rooms with their original wooden floors and high ceilings make a fine setting for the work. Admission is free.