The original Brownstone Hotel was designed by Donald Parkinson and built in the early 1900s.

During the last several decades the hotel deteriorated into a run-down single room occupancy hotel; the area surrounding the Brownstone is now the center of Skid Row. The renovated three-story building provides 48 living units with private bath and cooking facilities. The courtyard brings natural light to the interior units and ground floor lobby, TV room and community room. The original terracotta entry surround, the only element to have survived over the years, has been preserved.