The Barclay–Vesey Building's architects intended for the structure to have an imposing form, with vertical piers designed as buttresses; setbacks at upper floors; and a program of elaborate ornamentation on the exterior and interior.

[5][20][21] It was also the first major structure that Walker designed for McKenzie, Voorhees & Gmelin,[c] and, as such, was aesthetically distinguished from the firm's previous commissions.

[23][24] The building was constructed by general contractor Marc Eidlitz & Son, with several consulting engineers assisting in the project.

[28][29][30] Such elements included the Barclay–Vesey Building's setbacks; its vertical piers; and its pyramidal roof, which had been a defining feature of Walker's Tribune Tower proposal.

[4] Though setbacks in New York City skyscrapers were mandated by the 1916 Zoning Resolution to allow light and air to reach the streets below,[32][33] they later became a defining feature of the Art Deco style.

[6][18][24] During the design process, Walker had considered plans for "a series of stacked blocks connected by blunt transitions", though this proposal lacked a unified sense of character.

[5][24][37] The mechanical core was an important consideration since, at the time, office buildings largely relied on natural ventilation through means such as light courts.

[40] Above the granite base, the exterior is clad with brick in hues of green, gold, and buff,[18] a material that Walker preferred for its texture and color.

The facade also serves a protective purpose: the steel frame is enclosed within 12-inch-thick (30 cm), heavy masonry in the exterior infill walls.

[43][25] The modern-day facade contains some Indiana limestone slabs measuring 5 to 6 inches (130 to 150 mm) thick; these were installed after the building was damaged during the September 11 attacks in 2001.

[74] Mumford likened this continuity in interior and exterior design to the works of Frank Lloyd Wright, Henry Hobson Richardson, and Louis Sullivan, which also exhibited such consistency.

[68] At the time of the September 11 attacks, Verizon was using the building as a main telecommunications switching center in Lower Manhattan, handling approximately 200,000 phone lines and 3.6 million data circuits.

[16] The upper stories' corridors generally had terrazzo floors, as well as 4.5-foot-high (1.4 m) Botticino marble wainscoting beneath buff-colored plaster walls.

[81][95] The penthouse apartment, a duplex unit on the 31st and 32nd floors, covers 14,500 square feet (1,350 m2) with a 96-by-33-foot (29 by 10 m) living room, advertised as the largest in the city.

[98] Other features of the residential portion of the Barclay–Vesey Building include rooms for wine-tasting and billiards; music practice; a fitness center; a children's playroom; and a residents' lounge.

[12][101] In the early 1920s, the New York Telephone Company started acquiring the entire block between West, Barclay, Washington, and Vesey Streets.

[102] The site was chosen "because real estate values in that vicinity were much lower" compared to the area around Broadway, being relatively isolated from the rest of the neighborhood.

[106] He wished to create a "strong corporate image" for the structure,[12][104] and he sought to ensure that the proposed headquarters would comply with the 1916 Zoning Resolution while also being spacious and relatively inexpensive.

[115] During construction, almost 700 workers were employed for the project at any given time; tradesmen, such as plumbers and electricians, worked with concrete and steel contractors in overlapping shifts, in order to reduce delays.

[126][127] Improvements in technology resulted in the invention of smaller telephone equipment, leading to an increase in available office space at the Barclay–Vesey Building.

William F. Collins AIA Architects was the lead architectural firm working on the restoration,[75] while Tishman Interiors managed the project.

[44][136] The Excalibur Bronze Foundry and Petrillo Stone were hired as specialists to restore the intricate ornamental detail in the facade and in the lobby.

[1] The building was partially flooded by storm surges from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which seeped into the basement levels, took all except one of the elevators out of service, and damaged the lobby murals.

[146][147] The next year, Verizon sold off the top floors to developer Ben Shaoul,[126][148] the head of Magnum Real Estate.

New York Telephone dubbed the headquarters "a symbol of service and progress",[19][160] while Mumford said that the design "expresses the achievements of contemporary American architecture...better than any other skyscraper I have seen.

[164] These favorable reviews have continued through the 21st century: the 2009 Guide to New York City Landmarks described the building as "one of the most significant structures in skyscraper design".

In February 1927, the Architectural League of New York awarded Walker a gold medal of honor for the design, lauding its "quality of excellence" and saying that "A result has been achieved expressive of a high degree of skill and good taste in both general mass and in interesting detail.

"[21][165][166] That October, the Broadway Association gave the New York Telephone Company an award for the Barclay–Vesey Building, calling it a "contribution to civic advancement.

[30][51] Similarly, Hamlin wrote that the lobby "proves that as beautiful a richness of color and form can be obtained freely and non-stylistically as in any of the historical styles".

In 1991, New York Times architectural writer Phillip Lopate stated that "the corporate publicity aspects of the Barclay–Vesey lobby seem, by today's standards, overdone and kitschy" compared to Walker's later 60 Hudson Street commission, which was austere.