The building that currently houses the museum was originally constructed in 1864 by Mıgırdiç Sanasaryan and served as the Sanasaryan College (Armenian Girls Boarding School) for many years. The Erzurum Congress, which was a significant event in the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, was held in this building in 1919. The building suffered a fire in late 1924, which resulted in the complete destruction of the wooden part of the structure. Following the fire, the building was repaired and reopened as Gazi Primary School in 1926. It subsequently became Fine Arts High School, and Social Sciences High School. In 1960, a hall of the school was opened to visitors as the Atatürk and Erzurum Congress Museum. Between 2011 and 2013, the Turkish Grand National Assembly carried out a restoration project, after which the building was transferred to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The Congress Building is currently home to the Directorate of the Erzurum Art and Sculpture Museum. The museum's collection includes works by pioneering artists such as Şeref Akdik, Bahattin Akay, Mustafa Aslıer, Halis Üstündağ, and Hüseyin Yüce, reflecting the characteristics of various periods of Turkish painting. The Museum plays an important role within the regional sphere, given the historical importance of the building it is located in and the historical works of art. The Congress Hall of the museum features a presidential chair where Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is seated with a sample of his identity card, tables displaying the names of 56 delegates from Trabzon, Erzurum, Sivas, Bitlis and Van who participated in the Erzurum Congress, and portraits depicting the lives of the delegates on the walls.