The facade is articulated into three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a two-story base, a five-story shaft, and a one-story capital.

[11][12] Architect and writer Robert A. M. Stern described the building as containing elements of the Richardsonian Romanesque and Renaissance Classicism styles.

[13][a] 56 Beaver Street contains a facade of orange Roman brick, brownstone, and beige terracotta.

The facade is articulated into three horizontal sections similar to the components of a column, namely a base, shaft, and capital.

[6] The lowest part of the two-story base contains a water table, which was originally made of brick and granite but was subsequently refaced in sandstone.

[15] Near the western end of the South William Street elevation, a brownstone stoop leads up to the ground-level commercial space.

[20] On South William and Beaver Streets, a brick arch spans the third through sixth stories in each bay.

[5][23] When the building was completed, the eighth story was used as a kitchen, with pneumatic tubes and hydraulic elevators running to the lower levels.

[24] Swiss brothers Pietro and Giovanni Delmonico opened a French cafe in 1827[25][26] at 23 William Street.

In addition, many tall structures were being built in the Financial District, and the original branch was too small to accommodate the increased clientele.

[11] In March 1890, The New York Times announced that the old Delmonico's Building had been demolished and that a new structure would be erected on the site.

[39] New York state appraisers found that she was heavily in debt and had guaranteed a $450,000 mortgage loan on 56 Beaver Street.

[9][46] The restaurant's losses were exacerbated by the onset of World War I, which impacted global food supply chains.

[8][59] The New York Times described the transaction as "the largest cash profit in any one realty deal in the neighborhood in recent years".

[62] The William and Beaver Corporation, a holding company representing the investors, received $3 million in financing for the buildings on the block in May 1930.

[65] The Charles F. Noyes Company was hired as 56 Beaver Street's managing and renting agent in March 1933.

[66][67] City Bank-Farmers Trust had foreclosed on the 13 buildings on the block by January 1934,[68][69] and they were placed for sale at a foreclosure auction that September.

[75] By December 1934, after the repeal of Prohibition, Brown, Wheelock, Harris & Co. had sold a restaurant and bar in the basement and first story to Oscar Tucci.

[6] A subsidiary of the bank, 44 Beaver Street Corporation, filed plans in 1944 for a 33-story structure to be built on the Delmonico's site.

[79][80] This corporation's management represented Tucci, who hired architect John J. Regan the following year to draw up plans for renovating the lobby and the second through eighth floors.

The redesigned lobby was to contain marble walls, fluorescent lights, new elevator cabs, and a rebuilt staircase.

[84] A New York Daily News article had described the building as "empty and dark, although two gas lamps at its entrance still burn with a ghostly flicker".

[87] In 1989, on the 150th anniversary of the original Delmonico's building on the site, the restaurant dedicated two dining rooms in the former wine cellar.

The rooms were named after writers Charles Dickens and Mark Twain, who had both eaten at one of the previous Delmonico's locations.

[88] Around that time, business at Delmonico's had started to decline because numerous financial firms in the area had downsized.

[99][100] Greenburger had attempted to lease the restaurant space to Joe Quattrocchi, but the agreement fell through due to issues in obtaining a liquor license.

[105] The restaurant was forced to close temporarily in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, amid a lawsuit between the four co-owners.

[106] A state judge ruled in favor of two of the co-owners, Ferdo and Omer Grgurev, in March 2021; the brothers planned to renovate the restaurant and reopen it in late 2021.

[111] Dennis Turcinovic and Joseph Licul signed a 15-year lease for 14,393 square feet (1,337.2 m2) on the lower stories at the end of that month;[112] at the time, the restaurant was set to reopen in late 2023.

[114] The Delmonico's at the building's base began hosting private events and groups in July[114][115] and formally reopened September 15, 2023.