Manuel Prado Ugarteche at the ceremony of laying the first stone of the new premises of the BNP

After the fire that consumed the National Library of Peru on May 10, 1943, a commission was appointed in charge of rebuilding the institution. This was made up of prestigious intellectuals.
On January 18, 1944, at noon, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new building took place. This event was attended by the President of the Republic, Manuel Prado Ugarteche, in the company of the Minister of Public Education, the engineer Enrique Larosa, and the head of the Military House, being received by the Director of Artistic Education and Cultural Extension, Dr. José Jiménez Borja and by the Director of the National Library of Peru, Dr. Jorge Basadre.