It is located in the Black Metropolis-Bronzeville District in the Douglas community area of Chicago, Illinois.

The Chicago Bee was founded by the African American entrepreneur Anthony Overton in 1926.

This building was Overton's affirmation of his confidence in the viability of the State Street Commercial district.

This three-story building was one of the most picturesque in the district, and the one designed in the Art Deco style of the 1920s.

It also housed the offices of the Douglass National Bank and the Overton Hygienic Company, during the 1930s.