Earlier in its creation in 1953, it was called HMH Publishing then became known as its given name today. Playboy Enterprises Inc. had been an adult entertainment business that made its reputation on the sensuality and objectification of women - marketing their magazines towards men through the passivity and consumption of the female image. At the same time, the significance of this location plays into Betty Friedan's demand of women's representation in mainstream media and what she had planned on endorsing.

The Oxford Union Society is where the Oxford Union Debating Hall is located, in which the murals painted by popular Pre-Raphaelite artists are featured. The murals were painted at the same time that Pre-Raphaelite art was regaining popularity in 1857, alongside the publication of the Moxon Tennyson.