[1] The house is set in a predominantly residential area just west of Worcester's central business district, on the north side of William Street.

It is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame house, with a slate hip roof, slightly projecting central gabled pavilion, clapboard siding, and a granite foundation.

The entrance, set in the projecting pavilion, is sheltered by a porch that extends between the near corners of the flanking bays, with supporting square columns, arched openings, and a low balustrade.

A two-story polygonal bay projects from the right side, just below a steeply pitched gable.

[2] The house was built about 1875, and was first occupied by George Cobb, a fish and oyster merchant.