Designed by Ludlow and Peabody and built by Jesse H. Jones, it was finished in 1929 and is an example of Renaissance Revival architecture.

On November 14, 2007, the building became the final site to be removed from Thomas Edison's original direct current grid in New York City.

[6] In that year New York Edison announced plans that it was going to convert the entire system to alternating current.

The 2007 event shifted the responsibility for providing the conversion from Con Edison to the building via a local converter.

The New York City Subway's third rail electric system is still direct current (with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority providing the local converters from AC to DC.