The Old Parliament House occupies the site of one of Athens’ first private residences. It belonged to the Athenian magnate Alexandros Kontostavlos and it was so large that most people compared it to a ship-of-the-line with three masts. In 1833, King Otto selected it as a temporary residence pending the construction of the royal palace. One night, a servant informed the King that the wall by the chimney was on fire. Otto used his ceremonial sword to cut a hole in the wall and put out the fire. Nevertheless, the residence was destined to go up in flames, and it burned down in 1854. Four years later, Queen Amalia laid the foundation for the new parliament building designed by the French architect François Boulanger. Soon the government ran out of money, so construction was only complete by 1871. The parliament remained here from 1875 until 1935.