The Social Club in Iosefin-Elisabetin, which in 1897 was carrying out its activity in the Palace of the City Pension Fund in Küttl Square (currently Alexandru Mocioni Square), decided at one point that it needed its own building.
Taking advantage of the lifting of the interdiction to build outside the Timișoara Fortress walls in 1892, the Club opted to build the edifice in a new neighbourhood. In 1900, two building plots were purchased for the future “Southern Land Casino” (Délvidéki Caszino) - one on Bulevardul 16 Decembrie 1989 / St. Maria Square (Hunyadi út) and another one on Miron Costin Street (Horváth Boldizsár utca), totaling 14575 crowns.
In 1902 the Club obtained the authorisation of construction for a new palace, designed by the architect from Budapest, Emil Töry. Finalised in 1905, the building also hosted the Whitehouse fashion house, the cinema FORUM, and in the interior courtyard, the summer theatre. Presently, the palace hosts the Timişoara House of Culture in the wing of Miron Costin Street.
In time, the edifice has lost many of its original decorations, but is still one of the most important silhouettes of the Iosefin neighbourhood.
