The Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance Co. had been based in the Telegraph Building since 1905, and rented space in the Buhl Block for 12 years and the Burns Block for 21. In 1911, it decided it was time to build itself a building of its own.

This two-story building, designed by George D. Mason & Co., is sheathed in Bedford, Ind., limestone and in the Neoclassical style found in many financial institutions of the time. Its Ionic columns are perhaps the front facade's most defining feature.

The structure was built with a foundation that would allow for the building to hold four additional stories, if it was needed. It would not be.

It had skylights in the roof illuminating the ground floor. The mezzanine level was home to the offices of the company's directors. The entrance opened into the 38-foot-by-20-foot lobby.

In 1929, Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance was acquired by Great American Insurance Co., which continued to occupy the building. In 1958, Great American retired the Detroit Fire & Marine Insurance name and absorbed its operations into the rest of the company. On Oct. 29, 1964, Great American Insurance sold the building ahead of its move into the Detroit Bank & Trust Building at 211 Fort St.

In 1967, the building became the new Detroit headquarters for Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, a New York-based brokerage firm. The company opened its new offices on May 4, 1967, touting room for 45 brokers across its 14,000 square feet.

On Dec. 25, 2009, the building joined the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Detroit Financial District.

In more recent years, the building was home to the Elysium Lounge and, before that, the White House Night Club.

More on this building coming soon