Considered his best work, Hyde designed the building in the Romanesque Revival style.

[4] At one time the building had a distinctive turret on its northwest corner, which was destroyed by lightning in July 2011.

The building was commissioned by John Hennessy, the third bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dubuque, and derives its name from him.

[3] He was involved in speculative real estate and business ventures in the Dubuque area, and he built or acquired numerous buildings around the city.

This article about a property in Dubuque County, Iowa on the National Register of Historic Places is a stub.