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Fred R. Dorn (1867-1934) was the architect of record for the Marsh-Strong Building. Loyall F. Watson (1885-1960) served as Dorn's Supervising Architect. According to the publication Sanitary Pottery, "This building is the property of one of the large department stores in that city, but the upper stories are given over to offices. Mr. F.R. Dorn was the architect for the Marsh-Strong Building, which has a frontage of 117 feet on Main Street and 148 feet on Ninth Street. It is twelve stories high and contains 396 offices, being absolutely fireproof and modern in every particular." (See "The Combination Department Store and Office Building," Sanitary Pottery, vol. VI no. 3, 07/1914, p. 6.) Real estate developer Robert Marsh & Company financed the tower's construction.

This 12-story skyscraper replaced an existing, two-story Italianate commercial block with storefronts on the first floor and offices on the second. Offices facing 9th and Main each had oriel windows to provide added space and light. This two-story predecessor on the southwest corner of the intersection was removed in 1912, clearing the site for the Marsh-Strong Building.

PCAD id: 18798