Wikipedia has: "The ferry terminal building was constructed as part of the Port of Smyrna along with the quay and the breakwater by the French company Guiffray after projects of British engineers between 1867 and 1886. It was used as a checkpoint for international sea traffic. It took its name from its function as passport control site. A historic postcard featuring the building names it as the "Débarcadère et Bureau de Passeports" (Wharf and Passport Office).

The 1884-established passenger ferry line company, the "Gulf of Smyrna Ottoman Ferries Hamidiyye Inc.", operated Pasaport Ferry Terminal in the past connecting it with the ferry terminals Karşıyaka, Alaybey, Osmanzade, Turan, Bayraklı, Konak, Karataş, Salhane and Göztepe with a flotilla of eight passenger ferry boats. The company's head office was also in the building.

In 1922, the Great Fire of Smyrna, which began four days after the Turkish troops recaptured the city on September 9 that ended the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), destroyed the building along with much of the port city. The building remained a ruin for some years.

Redesigned in inspiration of Seljuk-Ottoman architectural style of the First National Architectural Movement, it was rebuilt in the office time of Kâzım Dirik, who was appointed governor of the city in 1926."