The building was designed by the firm of Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan, and built in 1887.

It was designated as a Chicago Landmark in 1996 and was described by the Landmarks Division of the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development as an "irreplaceable link in the chain of work of one of the nation's most important architectural partnerships".

[1][2] It was distinctive in its use of exterior perforated girders, prefiguring designs of seven decades later.

[1] Architects Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed the Wirt Dexter Building as a warehouse and a furniture store for Wirt Dexter Walker, a prestigious lawyer in 1887, twelve years before his death.

On October 24, 2006, workmen were cutting up a boiler in the basement for scrapping with acetylene torches that sparked a large fire.