The building used to be one of the most significant houses in the market-place of Óbuda. It was formed of several smaller buildings by the 1500's. The remaining wood under its South part are from the same origin as the ones found in the stone house built around 1639. The Queen Elizabeth for the apotecarius, merchants who sold products beside herbs and medicine, commissioned it.

The set of houses by the side of the building and the street led to the Monastery of the Clarissa. The part on the South near the three meter wide stoned street is under the present building. It continues to the neighboring house at 156 Lajos Street.

The market-place was formed of the street to Esztergom and the street to the ferry in the 12-13th century. Significant parts remained from the stone houses that once stood in the street and were rebuilt in the 18th century.

The building at 159 Lajos Street was documented as a Bear House at the beginning of the 18th century. It was rebuilt as a dwelling house at the end of the century and attachments were built to it in the 19th century. This building is the Exhibition House of the Budapest Gallery today where contemporary exhibition s are held regularly, as well as the exhibition of the sculptor Pátzay Pál and the Varga Imre Collection.