The building dates from the gold rush boom period in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and is of historic significance.

The building is an unusual use of stone and Federation Romanesque architecture, especially in Fremantle where the stucco ornamentation of the Free Classical style dominates.

It has a narrow frontage and steep pitched gable, the height of which is further accentuated by a castellated tower crowned with a tiled, pyramidal roof and spire.

[1] Plans were drawn up by the architect Edward Herbert Dean Smith for William De Lacey Bacon for offices and warehouse to be built at the site in 1902.

[3] The first tenant in the building was L. Ratazzi & Company, a general merchant specialising in wine and spirits, who were also the main representative for Norddeutscher Lloyd Imperial German Mail Steamers.