In the 1880s, the colonial government of Hong Kong initiated the Praya Reclamation Scheme to expand the amount of land available in the city.

Queen's Building was one of the new structures conceived under this plan and its construction began at around the same time that the reclamation scheme was being carried out.

[2] Hong Kong architectural firm Leigh & Orange were commissioned to be the architects and in 1899, the construction was completed.

[3] It was one of two arcaded Victorian structures that flanked Statue Square (the old Hong Kong Club Building being the other).

[5] It primarily housed shipping, insurance and trading corporations from Europe,[6] and the entrance of Queen's Building became a popular stop for rickshaws and sedan chairs.