The church is a rectangular brick building with a central tower flanked by protruding octagonal turrets at each corner.

The church was begun about 1854 by Norris G. Starkweather and finished by his assistant Edmund G. Lind around 1873.

[2] The steeple is the tallest in Baltimore at 273 feet (83 m) and was completed by 1875, supported by clusters of cast iron columns.

[3] First Presbyterian Church and Manse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

It was instrumental in the establishment of the local Presbytery of Baltimore and many "daughter congregations" such as Second Presbyterian Church and others.