Prime Minister's Residence at Tjarnargata

The black timber house at the corner of Tjarnargata stands out because of its dark, painted wood siding and the way it hugs the street. Built in nineteen oh six, the house first served as the home for a local merchant before the Icelandic state acquired it in nineteen forty-three. Prime ministers have used it for formal receptions and government business ever since. In nineteen seventy-three, the house hosted a famous meeting between American president Richard Nixon and Icelandic prime minister Olafur Johannesson during the Cold War.