[2] In 1918, the Waterman Pen Company began leasing the property and initially announced plans to renovate the existing building and replace its facade, at an estimated cost of $100,000.

[3] Designed by Holabird and Roche, it was the first new building to be built in Chicago's Loop following the start of World War I.

[3] The exterior was clad in blue terra cotta and encaustic mosaic panels, while the interior featured black walnut furnishing and fixtures, a vaulted ceiling decorated in silver and gray, and cork tile flooring.

[12] On October 20, 1938, Three Sisters, a woman's apparel shop, opened its fifth Chicago-area store in the Waterman Building.

[19][20] In 2018, the building was sold and Sonder Corp. intended to renovate it and open a 41 room hotel in the top four stories, with retail on the first two floors.