高雄市為南臺灣第一大城市，其於1924年設市。建市至今，市政府兩度遷移：由最早的哈瑪星（今代天府址）、鹽埕（今高雄市歷史博物館），一直到今日的四維大樓。其中位於鹽埕時間最長，從1939年落成，到1992年市府搬遷至四維大樓，共有53年，超過半世紀的時間，市府於此辦公，歷經戰後接收、二二八事件、升格直轄市，可說是與高雄市一起成長。舊高雄市政府之興建，是因應日治時期對高雄市之規劃。日治時期透過都市計畫及公共建設，引導都市發展，1938年新的高雄市政府（高雄市役所）動工，於1939年落成啟用。該建築由大野米次郎設計、清水建設興建，為反映當時代的「帝冠式」建築。帝冠式建築是日治後期的建築樣式，強調和洋融合，特徵為日式屋頂及西洋屋身，也是日本在太平洋戰爭後，強調日本主體性的產物。當時高雄為日治末期「南進化、工業化」之主要城市，故帝冠式建築多半在高雄，尤其以高雄市役所為代表。戰後對於以公共建設引導城市發展不再如此積極，故高雄市政府一直停駐於鹽埕，長達47年，高雄市在此期間人口突破百萬，並升格為院轄市，該建築已無法負荷市府急速成長的工作人員，後期甚至有一半的市府人員在外辦公，迫使高雄市政府於1992年遷移至四維路大樓。市府遷移後，該建築做何用途，引起熱烈討論，最後決議改為高雄市立歷史博物館，此為全國首座由地方政府經營之歷史博物館，於1998年啟用。但在興建過程，因認定該建築後棟為戰後增建，不具保存價值而拆除，而實際上，後棟在日治時期已存在，戰後僅是將兩層樓建物增建為三層樓。原高雄市政府空間重新規劃，前棟改為高雄市立歷史博物館，後棟及周遭改建為音樂廳及工商展覽中心，也成為高雄市民及外地遊客來到高雄必遊之地，仍為高雄市最重要的建築之一。由該建築長達60餘年的歷史，也見證高雄市的變遷。

Kaohsiung, the largest city in southern Taiwan, was founded in 1924. Since its establishment, the city's administration office had relocated twice: from the earliest site in Hamasen (now Dai Tien Fu), then to Yan Cheng (now Kaohsiung Historical Museum), and finally to SiWei Building till today. Among the three sites, the longest serving city hall is the one in Yan Cheng. The building was completed in 1939, and remained in service for 53 years till 1992 when the office was moved to Si Wei Building. Over half a century, this had been the seat of the city's administration, witnessing major events such as post-war takeover, the 228 Incident, and the city's promotion to municipality. The construction of the City Hall in Yan Cheng was a response to Kaohsiung's city planning during the Japanese rule. Under this scheme, a new City Hall (Kaohsiung City Adminstrative Center, KCAC) started construction, and was completed in 1939 in contemporary ＂imperial crown＂ (teikan yoshiki) style. One major characteristic of the imperial crown style buildings is a combination of western and Japanese features, such as Japanese-style roof with western-style façade. Toward the end of the Japanese rule, Kaohsiung has becoming the primary city for the ＂go south, do industrial＂ policy. Hence most of the imperial crown buildings are constructed in the city, with KCAC as the most representative among them. In 1945, Taiwan was taken over by the Republic of China. Originally the city hall was to be seated in the old Kaohsiung Provincial Office, but the building was destroyed during the war, hence the city hall was moved to Kaohsiung City Administrative Center, and stayed in the building for 47 years. During this period, Kaohsiung grew to a large city with a population of over a million, and earned municipality status. As the office had obviously outgrown the office, it was finally relocated to the new building in Si Wei Road in 1992. After the relocation, how to repurpose the old building became a topic of heated debates. It's eventually decided that it will be turned into Kaohsiung Museum of History, which is also the first historical museum managed by local government, and was launched in 1998. However, during the process, the annex at the back of the building was misidentified as a post-war extension, and was demolished due to low historical value. In fact, the rear annex had been there since the Japanese rule, the only post-war extension was the addition of the 3rd floor. Nevertheless, the building was re-designed, with the front section converted to Kaohsiung Museum of History, the rear section to a music hall and an exhibition hall, and had since become a popular destination for tourists visiting the city. After more than 60 years, the building continues to be one of the most important historical landmarks in the city.