It was designed by architect Frederick German[2] and built in 1923 as an ice hockey and curling rink to provide a public venue for physical development to the working class men largely employed in Iron Range mines.

A generation later, as the gender balance of the city's population evened out, the building was converted into a shirt factory in 1947 to create jobs for women.

[3] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its state-level significance in the themes of industry and social history.

[4] It was nominated for encapsulating the social welfare of the Progressive Era and the robust public spending funded by the mining boom, and the transition to a more gender-balanced population and need to diversify the economy.

[3] The St. Louis County government acquired the building in 2003 and repurposed it as the Northland Office Center.