Alexander B. Grogan and William M. Lent erected a building on this site sometime between 1858 and 1860, the date seems uncertain. The building was badly damaged by the 1906 Earthquake and Fire, and the original building was either repaired or replaced by the current building, the facts are again uncertain. The 19th Century occupants of the original building included Grogan, Lent, Faxon Dean Atherton, and other men prominent in commerce, mining, real estate, and brokerage.

William M. Lent, as president of the Savage Mining Company from 1862 to 1864, helped finance the Comstock Lode, a silver venture which brought more wealth to San Francisco than the Gold Rush of 1849.

Faxon Dean Atherton, from Massachusetts, had been a successful merchant in Valparaiso, Chile, from 1834 to 1860, when he relocated to San Francisco to Become one or the wealthiest men in California. His property included land in San Mateo County which became the town of Atherton. Faxon was married to Dominga Goñi, daughter of a wealthy Chileno family. After her husband's death, she built a home on California Street which today is National Register #79000527 and San Francisco Landmark 70.

Alexander B. Grogan, the third man whose name is attached to this building, had been Atherton's California business agent and later the executor of Atherton's estate.

The Grogan-Lent-Atherton Building is in the Jackson Square Historic District.