The building, designed by Gordon W. Lloyd, was constructed for the F. J. Schwankovsky Company, a retailer of musical instruments.

The Schwankovsky Company went out of business a couple of decades after the building opened; subsequently, from 1920 to 1978, the structure was occupied by the Wright Kay jewelry firm.

The Wright–Kay is a Queen Anne style building with Romanesque accents,[5] faced with brick and brownstone trimmings.

[1] The building was erected with a cast iron frame, and was among the first ones in Detroit featuring an electrical elevator.

[5] In 2013, the original wood windows in the building, many of which had an etched design containing the initials WK, were all thrown out and replaced with replacement aluminum windows by the owner, Bedrock Management, all without gaining the needed approval of the Detroit Historic District Commission.