117 Gloucester Street is one of two surviving segments of a much larger housing development which is significantly associated with the Housing Board, the first government agency established solely for the provision of housing. Together with the small number of other Housing Board buildings in The Rocks (including 46-56 Gloucester Street and 140-142 Cumberland Street), 117 Gloucester Street represents the changing role of government in the provision of welfare services to the populace from the turn of the 20th century.