To keep the cost of the building economical, Harmon decided to use inexpensive red brick for the façade with architectural terracotta decorations.

Harmon designed the upper stories of the structure as an exposed tower visible from all directions, which was topped by a roof garden and penthouse.

The public areas in the building were also designed in the Italian Renaissance style and originally consisted of a two-story lounge, a small lobby, and an office.

[5][6] The company's club hotels were a variation of apartment hotels that were popular among unmarried men and young families during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but also included the types of social activities provided at private clubs and were aimed at providing affordable housing and social life to young middle-class men.

[10] A classified advertisement posted in The New York Times in October 1918 announced that management was now ready to take applications for its new residence at 145 East 39th Street, which rented furnished rooms exclusively for bachelors starting at $6.50 (equivalent to $132 in 2023) per week.

[11][15] American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald rented a room at the Allerton House in February 1920, where he wrote the short stories "The Jelly-Bean" and "May Day".

[18] With funds from Troughton's gift, the Salvation Army purchased the Allerton Hotel in 1954, renovated the structure, and converted it into the Ten Eyck-Troughton Memorial Residence.

At that time the Salvation Army indicated it would be selling the Ten Eyck-Troughton Memorial Residence along with a similar women-only single room occupancy building it ran in Gramercy Park, the Parkside Evangeline, because they had become too costly for the charity to maintain.

[24][25] A group of evicted tenants filed suit against the Salvation Army in early 2007,[24][26] but the court ruled that the buildings were operated for charitable purposes and were exempt from the city's rent stabilization laws.

[34] The restaurant in the lobby was originally owned by April Bloomfield and Ken Friedman and named Salvation Taco as a nod to the former use of the building.

[33][41] To keep the cost of the building economical, Harmon decided to use inexpensive red brick for the façade, which led to his choice of using details in the Northern Italian Renaissance style.

He desired varied brickwork with deep-raked and irregular joints to draw interest to the material, but had difficulty in communicating his design intent to the masons.

[1] Recognizing that the restrictions from the 1916 Zoning Resolution would affect the setbacks of future developments in the area, Harmon chose to make the upper stories of the structure an exposed tower that would be visible from all directions.

The main entrance is topped by a lintel with molded denticulation; it is decorated with an eagle, wreath, and ribbons above the doorway, which serve as a tribute to the American entry into World War I.

[45] The roof garden on the south wing is accessed via a short flight of steps leading down from the solarium in the center core.

An arcade and colonnade around the perimeter of the roof garden provide a partial enclosure to the space while allowing for views of the city.