Panet House was built between 1876 and 1877 for Colonel Charles-Eugène Panet, Deputy Minister of Militia and Defence, at the corner of Laurier Avenue and King Edward Avenue, then called Theodore Street and King Street, respectively.

[2][3][4] The building was expropriated by the City of Ottawa in 1969 when there was talk of demolishing it to make way for the proposed King Edward Expressway from the Macdonald-Cartier Bridge to the Queensway.

However, heritage groups objected to this plan and Action Sandy Hill presented a petition with 2,000 signatures at a public meeting in March 1983.

[3] On September 21, 1983, the Ottawa City Council created the King Edward Avenue Heritage Conservation District.

[10] The building was designed in the Second Empire style, and features a mansard roof with dormers and decorative cornices, limestone cladding, and stone chimneys.