The Century Building was designed by the prominent Melbourne architect Marcus Barlow and constructed in 1939-40 by the Swanson Brothers. It was built for the Howey Estate, which owned the site from the first Melbourne land sales in 1837 until 1970, and Barlow had been the Estate's official architect since 1930. The Century Building is a twelve-storey steel and reinforced concrete office building in the vertical Streamlined Moderne style. (vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au)