It was designed by McKim, Mead & White and built in 1907–1908 and opened on November 6, 1908.

[2] It is a three-story-high, three-bay-wide building faced in deeply rusticated gray limestone in a Neo Italian Renaissance style.

The branch was one of 65 built by the New York Public Library with funds provided by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, 11 of them designed by McKim, Mead & White.

The building is 50 feet wide and features three evenly spaced arched openings on the first floor.

[3] The branch served as Harlem cultural center and hub of organizing efforts.