[5] Prussian immigrant engineer and surveyor Charles Zimpel was the building's architect; he also designed the City Hotel and the Bank of Orleans.

[6] The building consisted of two commercial blocks connected by a central promenade covered in a glass ceiling.

[2] For many years the three-story building fronting Magazine was a landmark that served as a combination of office space, "auction-mart, [and] bar-room".

[7] According to architectural historian Dell Upton, "The ground floor contained stores, John Hewlett's restaurant, and the offices of notaries, newspapers, architects, commodity brokers, auctioneers, attorneys, and slave dealers.

[8] Banks was a supporter of the paramilitary action that became the Texas Revolution; two companies of soldiers known as the New Orleans Greys were recruited and organized at the Arcade's coffeehouse.