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The Ellen G. Walker Shop is locally significant under Criterion A within the areas of significance of commerce and community development. The building represents Jackson’s transition from early homesteading and settlement to a diverse tourism economy. Walker’s Store is considered a specialty shop, for its singular stock of women’s clothing and accessories. Earlier shops were general stores or mercantiles that carried a wide variety of goods that catered to local agricultural needs. Walker’s women’s clothing not only appealed to locals but tourists, and helped to draw visitors south from the National Parks. This pattern of specialty stores accelerated after World War II and transformed the look of the downtown area into that of a tourist destination with boardwalks and covered walkways.

The Ellen G. Walker Shop is also locally significant under Criterion B for its association with Ellen G. Walker, who operated her eponymous ready-to-wear women’s clothing stores for 56 years in western Wyoming. Her two most notable stores were located in Jackson and Rock Springs, with the Jackson location outlasting the Rock Springs one. Walker personally oversaw the cutting of the logs and construction of the building in Jackson, where she eventually moved her business fulltime. She was recognized by the Business and Professional Women’s Club as their Business Woman of the Year in 1973, her 50th year in business. Walker also contributed to local organizations and became one of the most well-known women’s clothing stores in Jackson.