The four-and-a-half-story building was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Georgian Revival style and was constructed between 1896 and 1898 as a private residence.

The house initially served as the second residence for James Goodwin, who lived primarily in Connecticut.

[10][11] The houses at 5–15 West 54th Street, all developed in the late 1890s for wealthy clients, were designed as a cohesive grouping, unlike other residences in the neighborhood.

[12] According to The New York Times, the houses form the sole remaining "real strip of mansions" in Midtown Manhattan.

[3][13] The double unit at 9 and 11 West 54th Street was designed by McKim, Mead & White in the Georgian Revival style.

[3][10][14] 11 West 54th Street was partly modeled on the third Harrison Gray Otis House in Boston.

[16] Russell Sturgis, writing for Architectural Record in 1900, described the house as two structures with their "facades forced into one".

[19][20] From the ground level, a low stoop with four steps leads to the entrance to number 11, at the center of the facade.

In front of the main entrance is a portico supported by two fluted columns designed in the Ionic style.

[19] Under the portico is a pair of wood-and-glass doors inside a stone doorway frame topped by a keystone.

The other three ground-story bays consist of recessed six-over-six windows with stone voussoirs and paneled keystones.

The first floor of number 11 had a vestibule and a study in the front, a stair hall in the center, and a kitchen and servants' dining room in the rear.

[30] After an early 1980s renovation, the reception hall was clad in wood paneling while the second floor dining room was restored.

[31] The United States Trust Company, the occupant at the time of the 1980s renovation, reproduced many of the original decorations and added a rear annex.

After the US Trust renovation, the house's interior had marble fireplace mantels, gilded bronze lights, and walls with red paper or green silk damask.

The University Club, whose construction commenced the same year, was the first structure to be built on the former hospital plot.

[32] James J. Goodwin was a prominent Connecticut businessman and railroad director who had a business partnership with his cousin, financier J. P.

[22] By 1915, it was the home of William S. Bryant, who oversaw the execution of Charles Becker, a policeman found guilty of murdering gambler Herman Rosenthal.

[42] In 1921, Josephine Goodwin leased the house to Francis de Ruyter Wissman and his wife.

[22][36] The Rhodes Preparatory School leased both units for ten years in November 1944 and moved into the house.

[24] The Rhodes School sold the house in 1979 to the United States Trust Company, a bank, for use as its own headquarters.

[25] The bank hired Haines Lundberg Waehler to restore 9–11 West 54th Street largely to its original design.

[25] Bank consultant David G. De Long said that original drawings were also used to restore the space.

[25] The New York Landmarks Conservancy granted the US Trust Company its 1981 Chairman's Award for preserving the house in the renovation.

[1] US Trust expanded its space into 13 and 15 West 54th Street, demolishing a wall separating the two pairs of residences, in the late 20th century.

Family member Orin Wilf, who led Skyline Partners, said at the time that he was unsure what he planned to do with the building.