The building has three parts: the original townhouse, a theater addition to the south, and a classroom wing to the rear.

The townhouse is a three-story brick building with a brownstone, exhibiting Italianate styling that was popular at the time of its construction.

[4] The original townhouse portion of the building was built between 1853 and 1854 for William Gaul, a wealthy brewer,[5] to a design by Stephen D. Button, a prolific local architect.

[6] The Philadelphia School of Design for Women purchased the property in 1880, and built an extensive rear addition westward to Carlisle Street, to house art studios.

The addition's Master Street façade was brick, but fitted with brownstone-trimmed windows consistent with those of the original house.