Museum of American Finance occupied the former banking hall from 2007 to 2018; it was replaced by Will & Wall, a multi-purpose event venue.

[3][5] The site slopes downward to the south, with the Wall Street side being slightly lower than the northern portion of the lot.

[6] Immediately outside the building's southeastern corner is the entrance for the Wall Street station on the New York City Subway's Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line (served by the 2 and ​3 trains).

[8] At the time of 48 Wall Street's construction, the 1916 Zoning Resolution necessitated the inclusion of setbacks on buildings in New York City that were above a certain height.

Due to the narrow street grid of the Financial District, the surrounding skyscrapers obstruct the view of the building from many angles; as a result, most of the ornamentation is at the base, where the banking room is.

There is little decoration, except for vertical bands and recessed panels that provide accenting, as well as other symbols such as wreaths and roundels.

The walls and floors are composed of gray marble, while the ceiling is made of plaster, with glass-and-bronze lamps attached to the top.

Inside, doors lead to the main lobby, which is composed of two circular stairs flanking a marble compass on the floor.

These are the north side of the room, taking up much of the space; a raised area on the south, near the balustrade; and a narrow western section behind an arcade.

On the southeast corner is a private office, which includes a marble fireplace mantel and wooden decorations.

There was also a board room designed in the Colonial Revival style, which contained Doric columns, round-arched doors, wainscoting, and a fireplace, and formerly an Ernest Peixotto painting of the bank's founders.

[30][31][32] Its first offices were in the old Walton family mansion on Pearl Street, in the current Financial District,[32][33][34] but the bank moved to a site on Hanover Square in 1787.

[32][35][36] Nine years later, the bank's board was looking for "better facilities and a more desirable location", and voted to move to the corner of Wall and William Streets at a cost of 10,000 New York pounds.

[41] In subsequent years, other banks began moving to residential buildings on Wall Street, and by the 1820s, financial institutions made up the vast majority of tenants.

[40] In the mid-19th century, many Wall Street banks destroyed their former structures to erect new Greek Revival and Italianate buildings.

[43] The interior banking room, with a ceiling 26 feet (7.9 m) high, was located at the building's rear (north) end on the 1st and 2nd stories.

[38] The Bank of New York considered buying land to build a third structure at 48 Wall Street in the first decade of the century, but these plans were dropped in 1909 as uneconomical.

[45] The new Bank of New York building was again postponed due to the construction of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue subway line in the 1910s, which raised concerns that the new structure's foundations might be damaged, and then the onset of World War I, when funding was scarce.

Ultimately, the bank decided to rent space at nearby 76 William Street for two years because it would have been impractical to maintain their current quarters while the foundations were being excavated.

[50] In September 1928, bank officials hosted a ceremony where stones from the two previous buildings on the site were inserted into the new skyscraper.

[55] By 1979, the American International Group and the Bank of New York were considering building a new skyscraper at 60 Wall Street.

[56] After the city's Industrial Commercial Incentive Board refused the Bank of New York's request for a $22 million tax abatement for the office tower's construction in February 1982, the plans were canceled.

[4] In the late 1990s, the bank put 48 Wall Street for sale, hosting a two-stage auction that attracted more than 20 bidders.

A joint venture between the Corsair Group and Swig Burris Equities won the auction, buying the building for $37.5 million.

[63][66] The structure would be renamed the Residences at 48 Wall Street, with 169 furnished apartments on the fifth through 17th floors and unfurnished units above.

[65][66] The Corsair–Swig Burris joint venture was considering converting the building back to commercial use by January 2000, after interior demolition was well underway.

They cited the growing demand for commercial and office space, since these types of tenants were willing to pay more per square foot.

[75] In 2024, producer Simon Painter announced that he would present a circus-like interactive show in 48 Wall Street's lobby.

[8][79] The Real Estate Record wrote in 1927 that, in the architecture of 48 Wall Street, the bank "is endeavoring to perpetuate the dignity and feeling" of 18th-century New York City.

[4][80] Bankers Magazine stated in 1929 that "the colonial feeling has been fittingly observed in the treatment of both interior and exterior", and lauded the murals' "soft colors", which were described as having "an air of quiet".