This structure, constructed in 1915 by local contractor James Perry based on designs by New Orleans city architect Edgar Angelo Christy, is a classic example of the Beaux Arts style. The building initially served as a municipal courthouse and as the police station for the third precinct.

The history of the land goes back to ownership by the Marigny de Mandeville family and, through the years, by other well-known Louisiana families-Delachaise, Forstall, Macarty, Destrehan, and Perrilliat. The present lot, once part of a larger property extending to the corner of Chartres and Conti Streets, was part of the succession of Celeste Robin de Longy, widow of Jean Noel Destrehan, in 1825. A long, low structure-described as a maison a etage-with a separate kitchen at the back of the property was demolished before the construction of the present-day building.

After an extensive restoration, the Chartres Street building opened as the Williams Research Center in January 1996. The research center houses The Collection's public reading room for researchers as well as offices for curatorial, library, and manuscripts personnel and collection storage and processing areas.