The Palace of St. Michael and St. George, which stands along the northern side of Esplanade, is considered the finest of the British buildings in Corfu and one of its landmarks. It was built under Sir Thomas Mainland, the first Lord High Commissioner on the site formerly occupied by a Venetian hospital, after plans designed by Sir George Whitmore in the Gregorian style. The style of the Palace, which was built entirely in Maltese stone, shows a clear influence of the British neoclassical architects of the 19th century.
Its construction began in 1819 and it served as the residence of the British Lord High Commissioner up to the end of the Protectorate in 1864. It was also the seat of the Ionian Senate and the headquarters of the Order of SS. Michael and George. This order was instituted in 1818 to reward the services of British colonial officials serving in the Ionian islands and Malta. Since April 1981 the robes, medals and other insignia of the order are displayed in the throne-room of the palace. A Doric colonnade adorns its facade and its two entrances, ending on the right and left with two tall gateways, the one leading to the harbor inscribed the 'Gate of St. George' and the other, overlooking the palace gardens named the 'Gate of St. Michael'. The bronze statue of Sir Frederic Adams stands in a small garden in front of the main entrance. It is a work of the Corfiot sculptor Pavlos Prosalentis and was erected to tribute Sir Adams for the construction of the city's water supply.On the top part of the building relieves allegorically represent the Ionian islands.
The central panel, probably Britannia, is an allegorical figure representing the benefits of the Protectorate. On either side are the emblems of the seven Ionian islands. All are works of Pavlos Prosalentis. Today the Palace houses the museum of Asiatic Art, a museum of Christian Art, the Archives of the Ionian Senate and the Corfu island Public Library containing about 60,000 volumes of Greek and foreign books