The site, on the north-west corner of the intersection of Collins and Swanston Streets, was purchased by the Manchester Unity Independent Order of Oddfellows (MUIOOF) in 1928,[1] reportedly for the sum of £250,000.

The ground level included an L shaped arcade connecting Collins to Swanston Street, and into the rear lane, and opening out to form the lift lobby.

The arcade is richly finished in coloured marble, with copper shopfronts, and a larged cornice with panels depicting the activities of the society, as well as view of 'old melbourne', and the building itself.

The design included the first escalators in Melbourne, connecting the ground level arcade with further shopfronts at the first floor, and with the basement shop, the latter since removed.

[9] A dinner for several hundred guests was held on 12 December 1932 in the building's basement to celebrate its opening, with Sir Stanley Argyle, the Premier of Victoria, giving a speech.

[citation needed] During World War II, it was used by the Australian Army, Victorian Lines of Communication, Southern Command HQ.

[13] Alongside Manchester Unity staff, tenants of the building have ranged from Averillite's, a clothing manufacturer, to Rene Henri, a high-society hairstylist, as well as numerous jewellers.

The distance between façade and the edge of the building allows for smaller rooms along the windows with the regular and narrow mullions enabling flexibility of width.

Level 12, originally a Wood Marsh Architecture residential penthouse development from the late 1990s has been converted to a dental specialist centre facility.