It was designed by Richard Gailey and built from 1876 to 1900 by John Smith & Sons on behalf of the Primitive Methodist Church.

Primitive Methodist Services conducted by lay preachers commenced in Brisbane in 1859, and the first minister arrived the following year.

Several foundation stones were laid on 1 March 1876, and the building was completed in about five and a half months at a cost of approximately £1,100, including fittings.

Penny Savings Banks had operated in Brisbane from at least the 1870s, and generally were run by churches, working men's associations or lodges.

Associated initially with the Primitive Methodist Sunday School, the bank later offered first mortgage housing loans.

Plans were drawn by Rev Frederick Arthur Malcolm, and the building was erected by voluntary labour, at a cost of £375.

[2] The Association refurbished the building and added a steel-framed mezzanine floor, designed by conservation architect Richard Allom.

[4][5] The Fortitude Valley Primitive Methodist Church, a single-storeyed rendered masonry building with a stone plinth, is located on a raised corner site overlooking Brunswick Street and is accessed via twin stairs built into a carefully articulated and unpainted brick retaining wall.

[1] The steep pitch gabled roof is clad with corrugated iron, and the building shows a strong Gothic influence in its design.

[1] The rectangular plan consists of five bays with buttressed walls, and a rear storeroom with a corrugated iron skillion roof.

[1] The Fortitude Valley Primitive Methodist Church was listed on the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992 having satisfied the following criteria.

It has a special association with Brisbane architect Richard Gailey, as an example of his ecclesiastical work and with the Fortitude Valley Penny Savings Bank for nearly a century.