The American Exchange Bank building is one of the few surviving reminders of the architecture that used to surround the Capitol building in Madison. Built of Madison sandstone, the three story Italian Renaissance Revival structure was once one of many similar buildings to be found on the Capitol Square from the 1850s to the 1950s.

Designed by well-known Madison architect Stephen V. Shipman, who also designed the dome and rotunda for the State Capitol, the site itself has historic significance for the City as the original location of the American Hotel, built in 1838, where the Wisconsin legislature met for the first time that same year. The hotel burned down in 1868, and the current structure was built in 1871.

The American Exchange Bank bought the building in 1921 and remained there through the time of its listing on the National Register in 1980; however, a local architectural firm converted the building into office space in 1993, and attempted to preserve as many interior features as possible, such as the bank vault. The building still stands as one of the few remaining structures from this time period on the Capitol Square.