The Park Apartments building is located on Old Redwood Highway, the main artery through Santa Rosa before the freeway was built. Across the street to the north are the gardens and home of Luther Burbank. To the west is Juilliard Park,. (Juilliard Park was developed by the WPA in the 1930s. The park is named for Charles F. Juilliard, a winemaker who immigrated from France as a boy in 1836 and built his family home on this land in 1872. August Juilliard, founder of the Juilliard School of Music in New York City, was related to Charles.)

The building is one of the oldest multi-dwelling wooden buildings in the area. Before the 1900s, several wooden hotels stood north of here in downtown Santa Rosa, but all of them were demolished. Later hotels were built of stone or brick to lessen fire risk.

The two-tier design of the Park Apartments is unusual for Sonoma County. This design was primarily used during the Mexican-American era by General Vallejo and his officers. The Old Petaluma Adobe and Temelac Hall are examples. Cantilevered balconies, such as the Sonoma Barracks balcony, were more common.

The building is a focal point for the early 20th century Burbank Neighborhood which consists of narrow streets and small Greek Revival cottages, Queen Anne cottages and bungalows.

Adapted from the NRHP nomination dated 26 February 1979.