The Citizens’ Life Assurance Building was designed by John Quinton Bruce, and built in the early 1900s. The Norwich Union Fire Office occupied rooms there, as did the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co Ltd (EACT) until 1904. This company established telegraphic communication from Europe, using this building as the Australian headquarters through which overseas cables passed. The EACT bought the building in 1921 and renamed it Electra House in 1940.

It is architecturally significant for the high quality Classical detailing. The figure brackets supporting the balconette are very distinctive and rare in Adelaide. The building is a good example of Edwardian extravagance being a combination of many strong visual elements.

Electra House is an example of the former scale of King William Street and complements a streetscape which includes the General Post Office, the Town Hall and Treasury Buildings.

The composition of this building has been marred by the removal of upper decoration but is still important because of its giant order Corinthian columns. It is constructed of sandstone with red granite columns and ornamentation.

 

http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/ahdb/search.pl?mode=place_detail;place_id=14423