Constructed for the National Title Guaranty Company between 1929 and 1930, the 16-story building was designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and Wallace Harrison in the Art Deco style.

The ground story and basement originally contained a modern-style bank branch with decorations such as terrazzo floors and a colorful ceiling.

The National Title Guaranty Company was established at 172–174 Montague Street in 1924 and expanded significantly over the next three years, with offices across Long Island.

National Title Guaranty had moved its offices to the building by November 1929, and 185 Montague Street officially opened on April 3, 1930.

The banking space had become a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant by the 21st century, and the building became a New York City designated landmark in 2017.

[7] The site at 187 Montague Street contained the Chauncey Real Estate Building, which was acquired by Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce president Ralph Jonas in early 1926.

[8][9] The latter site, occupied by the Chauncey Real Estate Company until February 1929,[10] was originally supposed to be part of a large office building for the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

[9] The National Title Guaranty Building was designed by Harvey Wiley Corbett and Wallace Harrison in the Art Deco style and completed in 1930.

The main building's entrance is in the easternmost two bays and was initially topped by a spandrel panel with the name "National Title Guaranty Company".

[11] When 185 Montague Street opened, the National Title Guaranty Company and its subsidiaries occupied the lowest five stories and the basement.

[17] On the ground floor and basement was a branch for the National Exchange Bank and Trust Company,[24][25] which was designed in the modern style.

[23][24] The floor of the bank branch was made of terrazzo tiles laid in geometric patterns, while the ceiling contained colorful motifs representing industry and commerce.

[28] National Title Guaranty planned to occupy 174 Montague Street for a short time, as it wished to erect a larger building,[28][30][31] although the company only acquired its headquarters in May 1925 for $250,000.

[29] National Title Guaranty's capitalization had been increased to $2.5 million by the time it opened a permanent ten-story branch in Jamaica in mid-1928.

[44] National Title Guaranty had moved its offices to the building by November 1929,[16] relocating some functions from 174 Madison Avenue in Manhattan.

[47][48] At the time of the building's opening, rental agents Riker & Co. had leased out all except approximately 1,500 square feet (140 m2) of space, despite high vacancy rates in the surrounding neighborhood.

[51][52] The liquidation of National Title Guaranty's business began in January 1935,[53] and a grand jury subsequently indicted and convicted several of the company's officers on fraud charges.

[29] One of National Title Guaranty's final assets to be liquidated was the lease that it held on the bank branch at 185 Montague Street.

[54] A state judge ruled in April 1936 that the lease could be transferred to the Lawyers Trust Company,[54][55] which moved to the building at the beginning of that June.

[72] By the early 21st century, the ground story of 185 Montague Street was occupied by a Chipotle Mexican Grill fast-food franchise.

[74][75] Local civic group Brooklyn Heights Association then proposed that both 181 and 185 Montague Street be designated as New York City individual landmarks.

[75] The LPC began considering preserving the structures as individual landmarks in August 2016,[74][76] though the building's owner opposed the designation of 185 Montague Street.

[17][25] The Brooklyn Citizen wrote that the National Exchange bank's interior "represents a new style in simple treatment", with its use of marble and metalwork.

[24] Francis Morrone wrote: "This is one of the jazziest little Art Deco skyscrapers in town, its play of projecting piers and receding planes reminiscent of the punching horns of Count Basie's orchestra.