Lahore Museum’s majestic red-brick building stands on Shahrahe-Quaid-e-Azam, previously known as the Mall. Blended with the old tradition of Mughal Architecture, Lahore Museum stands out among the structures built in Lahore during the British period (1849-1947). This building is home to the country's largest and oldest collection of historical, cultural and artistic objects. Its collections of Gandhara sculpture, miniature paintings rare manuscripts and old coins are known throughout the world.

Similarly, its treasure of modern paintings, arts and crafts and ethnology are a national heritage beyond comparison. These collections attract research scholars, students and tourists from all over the world and constitute a unique cross-section of the cultural history of the Subcontinent The history of areas outside the Subcontinent is brought to life here, with artefacts from many countries and regions such as Burma, Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet, Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Initially, the Museum was set up in Wazir Khan's Baradari (pavilion) in 1855 in the centre of a date garden. Soon the space of the Baradari had become inadequate for the ever-increasing exhibits in the Museum. When the Punjab Exhibition of Industrial Arts and Crafts was held in 1864, the Museum's collection was transferred to the new Exhibition Hall, later called the Tollington Market and now the Lahore City Heritage Museum.

This hall was a temporary building erected along Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, in the vicinity of Anarkali Bazar. At the end of the Exhibition in 1864, this building was augmented for retaining it as a museum containing the various objects that had been displayed during the exhibition.

The Museum continued to be known as 'Lahore Central Museum' but its status was raised to that of a provincial museum. From 1861 onwards, it started receiving objects from various archaeological excavations, mainly Harappa from the Indus Valley Civilisation and Gandhara civilisation. The collection of the museum started incorporating objects from parts of the sub-continent other than Punjab as well. John Lockwood Kipling, the father of the famous Rudyard Kipling, came in 1875 from Calcutta to take over charge of the Mayo School of Art, now known as the National College of Arts. He was also the Curator of the Lahore Central Museum. He eagerly participated in the expansion and improvement of the Museum till his retirement on 5th May, 1893.

At the time of the jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria's reign in 1887, it was decided to erect a new and permanent building for the Museum. A public fund was set up for the purpose. The design of the whole complex of the museum building, and technical institute was prepared by Sardar Sahib Bhai Ram Singh and executed under the supervision of Rai Bahadur Ganga Ram, the then Executive Engineer of Lahore. The foundation stone of the building was laid by Prince Albert Victor, the grandson of Queen Victoria on 3rd February, 1890.

The building, covering 27,850 square feet, opened to the public in 1894. Prior to opening, the entire collection was transferred from the old Lahore Central Museum to the new one. The old building was handed over to the Lahore Municipality to serve as a public market called Tollinton Market.

By the end of the 19th century, the Lahore Museum had notable additions in the sections of Gandhara sculpture, stone inscriptions, Fine arts and numismatics. As with many other assets, several valuable collections of the Museum were divided between Pakistan and India at the time of Partition in 1947. After this steps were taken to give a new shape to the Museum, a process which continues to the present day.