The two-story, Italianate-style commercial building located at the corner of 15^th and Spring Streets is the older of the two buildings, constructed around 1875. The 1877-78 New Albany City Directory is the first that includes a listing for druggist Max Beust, at what was then 398 Upper Spring Street. By the 1888-89 City Directory Beust had relocated his business east to Vincennes Street and Bruno Knoefel was operating his drugstore here. Knoefel remained here until the mid-1890s before building his own brick store and residence building, still standing at 1417-19 East Spring Street.
 
A number of different businesses were located here subsequently – typically with the business owner’s family residing above – including Blanche Detrick’s dry goods store, music teacher C.H. Stevenson, two different confectioners, and Edward Leaf & Son’s sporting goods store. The ground floor space most recently was used as an office before being converted to an apartment.
 
The two-story building, sided with vinyl, has a hipped roof and wide decorative cornice with scrolled brackets.  Three windows on the second floor façade have six-over-six lights and decorated upper, projecting cornice hoods atop scrolled brackets.  The ground floor has been revised with four narrow, modern windows, paired with awnings above.  The main entry also has an awning and a central door with wrought iron storm door.  A paved parking area and two-car garage is located behind the building, facing 15^th Street.
 
The earliest Sanborn Fire Insurance map that includes this part of the city, from 1891, shows a detached, one-story frame structure just to the west of the commercial buildings, set back from Spring Street. The existing, frame bungalow, which is set in approximately the same location, likely dates to about the 1920s. This structure has a front-facing gable, with a Craftsman-style door at the right with a wrought iron storm door and a tripartite window at left with six-over-six lights. Brick piers and walls as well as foundation support the porch and building.
 
1421-23 East Spring Street is located within the locally designated East Spring Street Historic District. Because of this local designation, any exterior alterations must be reviewed and approved by the New Albany Historic Preservation Commission. For more information about the NAHPC and a copy of the City of New Albany Design Guidelines for the local historic districts, please visit www.newalbanypreservation.com. In addition to this local designation, the property is also listed in the National Register of Historic Places as part of the East Spring Street Historic District. This listing qualifies the owner to potentially take advantage of tax credits to help recoup qualified rehabilitation costs for both interior and exterior improvements.  For more information, see https://www.in.gov/dnr/historic-preservation/financial-assistance/historic-tax-credit/.