This striking building occupies one of the most visible corners in downtown Ennis, and was originally home to the Matthews Brothers Dry Goods store. The two-story brick structure features numerous Victorian frills executed in brick, such as pilasters, belt courses, diamond-shaped insets, corbelling, sculptural parapets, and an octagonal turret. Hix McCandless, a local engineer and contractor, constructed this building and many others throughout Ennis in this time period. 
Reflecting the advice given by planners such as R. C. Morrison and material suppliers such as the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company to “modernize” Main Street, the building exteriors of the Rowe Building at 101-05 S. Dallas and the neighboring 107 S. Dallas were “de-Victorianized” and given clean and uncluttered exteriors by 1945. For the Rowe Building, this meant removing its turreted roof and obscuring or removing the corbelling and other decorative brick detailing and covering the façade with white stucco. These alterations expressed a Moderne influence. 
The building has largely been used for retail purposes over time including the Federated Department Store which opened in 1944, followed at some point by Anthony's Department Store  and received a heavy interior remodeling in the 1980s

Ennis was hit by a tornado in 2013, and the building received heavy damage, including large holes in the roof (which in turn caused interior water damage) and loss of its turret roof. The current rehabilitation project began with repairs from the storm damage—including reconstruction of the turret—and continued to incorporate exterior repainting and window repairs, as well as interior improvements for the new office tenant. Interior changes included new mechanical systems, construction of an elevator, and creation of new restrooms, offices, and conference rooms.