The building was constructed in 1908–10 by American-influenced New Zealand architects Sidney and Alfred Luttrell and is an amalgam of Chicago skyscraper design and Edwardian architecture.

The façade shows strong Romanesque influence, with prominent columns topped with semicircular arches forming a major architectural feature.

[5] It appears to have been modelled at least in part on Louis Sullivan's 1887 Chicago Auditorium Building, albeit with far more Victorian and Edwardian colonial architectural embellishments.

[9] In its time, it has housed numerous notable tenants, including the Dunedin branch of the New Zealand Stock Exchange and publisher and writer A.H. Reed.

The interior of the building has been extensively remodelled since its construction and is largely lacking in architectural interest,[6] the only notable remaining original feature being the central staircase.