During the late 19th century, S.C. and L.A. Ransley were a pair of businessmen in Cincinnati; by the 1890s, they owned a chain of three confectionery stores in various parts of the city.

One of their properties was located along Kemper Lane on the southeastern corner of its intersection with McMillan Street, and it was here that they chose to erect a large new structure with plenty of residential space.

To design the building, they chose prominent architect Samuel Hannaford,[2] the regionally famous architect celebrated for designing important city buildings such as City Hall and Music Hall.

Among the other major components of the design is a turret on the building's main corner, facing the intersection.

[2] Although the building's architecture has been described as a generic "Victorian", many of its components evince clear Romanesque Revival themes.