A vacant lot changed hands several times between 1873 and 1911 before becoming the Brightman Building. On December 29, 1873, Mr. Wright transferred the lot to the International Organization of Odd Fellows, which sold it through Barnes and Wright to Redden and Turner on August 11, 1874. Redden sold his interest to Mr. Paine on December 30, 1889, and Paine and Turner borrowed money from Southern Home & Loan to construct the building in 1891. In 1898, Turner donated a five-eighths interest to local banker F.E. Adams. In January 1911, Mr. Dunlap transferred the remaining interest to O.O. Brightman, who in August 1911 transferred that interest to F.E. Adams. After Adams went bankrupt and reportedly faced an angry O.O. Brightman with a gun, Adams deeded the building and the Victorian home below to Mr. Brightman. O.O. Brightman's son Oswald later owned and operated a Whites Auto Store in the building for many years, and the Queen Ann home remained visible up the street at Houston and Walcott.