Julius Krause,a successful shoe manufacturer in De Pere, had this building constructed for his business after a catastrophic fire in 1882 destroyed the building he had been renting. The first floor was his retail store while the second floor was the shoe factory. The first floor has continued to support commercial use since the building's construction while the second floor was later converted to apartments. The building was designed in the Italianate style, a very popular style in the last decades of the nineteenth century. This compact brick building is two stories tall and retains its historic storefront having embellished cast iron columns, wood bulkheads, large expanses of glass and a recessed doorway into the commercial space. The second floor is quite simple, it's only ornament is in the form of projecting metal window hoods above the tall arched double-hung wood windows. The projecting cornice is also of metal and retains Italianate ornament including scrolled brackets and dentils at the top of the wall.

Italianate style commercial buildings were once a commonplace sight in the commercial districts of Wisconsin's cities buy many have since been either demolished or altered. The Krause Building retains a high level of integrity and helps illustrate the appearance of nineteenth century streetscapes.

This building, along with several buildings on the block, was demolished as a result of a fire in 2019. The site of this building is now a grass-covered lawn.

It was de-listed from the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 2023.