The barracks were originally built by the French in the 1870-3 as the Caserne de l'Infanterie on the site of the former Phoenix Citadel (Thành Phượng) built by the Nguyễn dynasty Emperor Minh Mang. Following the Japanese coup d'état in French Indochina in March 1945 the Caserne was used to imprison French soldiers and officials. In 1956 President Ngo Dinh Diem renamed the Caserne as the Cộng Hòa barracks and used them as the headquarters and barracks of the Presidential Guard.