Three successive courthouses were built on this site in 1651, 1804 and the current Gérard D. Levesque Building in 1887. The Québec Court House was better known as the Palais de Justice de Québec while courts were in session until 1983. The clock tower is the most impressive element of the Second Empire design by Eugène-Étienne Taché. Now, this National Historic Site of Canada offices the Ministry of Finance.