Walter Goodman, a local shoe merchant and entrepreneur, chose the site to construct a large emporium.

[2] In the late 1980s the NSW Department of Planning co-ordinated the restoration of the exterior of the building as part of a scheme to improve the Parramatta Road streetscape.

The building houses thirteen separate shops and residences above with renovated shopfronts on the ground floor with suspended awnings and narrow balconies over on the Parramatta Road frontage and wide posted balconies along the Johnston Street frontage.

The façades and parapet conceal the skillion roof forms and rear wings which extend back to Albion Lane.

The building occupies a prominent corner site and has landmark qualities and makes a positive contribution to this part of the Parramatta Road and Johnston Street streetscapes.