Former Hokkaido Government Office Building Red Brick Building

The Former Hokkaido Government Office is a low, sprawling rectangle of red brick that stands out against the modern glass towers of Sapporo. Built in eighteen eighty-eight, this colonial-style structure features a distinctive octagonal dome and served as the administrative heart of the island for over eighty years. When it was finished, it used over two and a half million local bricks. Its architect, Seijiro Niinami, modeled the building on the Massachusetts State House in Boston, bringing American design to the snowy north.