The following paragraph is quoted verbatim from the NRHP nomination submitted in 1990.

"This building is important in a number of ways. It is one of the few houses in Point Arena deliberately designed in an architectural style. The prosperity of its owner was expressed not in the ornamentation of the 1870s but the calm of elegance of the Second Empire style, which gained popularity in France during the reign of Napoleon III (1849-1871) and in the United States generally in the late 1870s and early 1880s. This building possesses the key element of the style, a mansard roof with dormers, and enough classical detailing to indicate clearly the lofty intentions of the builder. Several mansard-roofed houses were constructed in Point Arena. This is the only one that remains substantially unaltered. Possible changes to the portico (bannister, posts, and perhaps roof) are the only noteworthy modifications. As might be expected, the house was associated with some of the town's most prominent citizens. The original owners were the Gillmores. E. P. Gillmore ran a general merchandise store and livery stable and was county supervisor for a term. The house passed in 1906 to his daughter Bessie, who married J. H. Halliday, a member of the pioneering Halliday family, and lived in the house until the early 1940s. The building meets the registration requirements of its property type."