The building's namesake, Alfred Emmanuel Smith, was a four-term governor of New York and the Democratic Party's nomination for the 1928 presidential election.

The Art Deco skyscraper has 34 stories and as of December 2024, is Albany's second tallest structure (after the Erastus Corning Tower) at 388 feet (118 m).

The apartment, however, was moved to the adjacent plot at State Street using railroad tracks in late 1926.

These include the engraving of the names of all 62 New York State counties around the street-level facade and an Art Deco lobby[1] with a mural depicting famous New Yorkers.

[9] The skyscraper is constructed of limestone and granite,[3] and has views of Albany and the nearby landscape.