A listed building in Papastratou Str.,one of the central streets of Agrinio,formed the core on which the HotelMarpessa was developed.

The elegant neoclassical building wasbuilt in the 1920s to house the familyand the newly married daughter ofa wealthy tobacco merchant, whilethe ground floor functioned as histobacco warehouse. The RapidCity growth from the early 20thcentury until the interwar periodwas the result of the up-growingtobacco cultivation and tradeand the tobacco-trader houses,enriched with the morphology ofAthenian neoclassical prototypes,were symbols of prosperity andwealth. This building type formed, inthe years to come, the basis of themiddle class urban architecture ofAgrinio.

After a period of 40 years,through abandonment, recline,repeated damages due to strongearthquakes and a destructive firein the interior, it changed ownershipand consequently function andform. In the original three-storeycore a fourth floor and a new wingwere added, for which specificallybuilding regulations were issued.On the primary rectangular blockof the listed building an almostequivalent volume was added, withthe thinnest in-between volume ofauxiliary spaces of the preservedbuilding in recession.