42 Murray Street is a one and one-half-story, gable-front, two over three bay, wood frame building located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Murray and Allen Streets. It features a decorative hood above the door in the southernmost bay on the first floor, reminiscent of those at 31 George Street and 12 Monroe Street. Additions were constructed on the north and south sides of the building by 1890,¹ and a final addition was constructed on the east side between 1894 and 1900.²

This house was built between 1857 and 1869 for Louis Robarge,³ a blacksmith and carriage maker.⁴ The Robarge family continued to live in the house until at least 1890.⁵ Fred Michaud, a cabinet maker, resided at 42 Murray Street in the 1910s and 1920s.⁶ In 1927, the building was purchased by Flora M. Robillard, a widow, who continued to own it until 1963.⁷ Mrs. Robillard took in boarders, such as Mary E. Kane and Alphonse Beaupre in 1930. Beaupre was employed by the Star Cleansing Company.⁸