The Brown Building, originally called the Music Building and later the Brown Music Building, was designed by Harry Barton, of Greensboro, North Carolina, and was opened in 1925. On February 22, 1960, the building was named in honor of Wade R. Brown, head of the Department of Music from 1912 to 1936. The building remained home to the School of Music until 1999, when the new Music Building was completed.
An annex was constructed in 1966 as additional space for the Brown Music Building. It was demolished in spring of 2007 and the area was converted into green space.