Originally built for office use, the building was named for its owner Harlow Clarke Curtiss, a prominent Buffalo attorney and real estate investor.

[5] Amenities include a first-floor corner 3-meal restaurant, featuring a revolving bar reminiscent of Buffalo's historic Chez Ami Supper Club.

On the opposite corner of the building, adjacent to a porte cochère and main entranceway, the hotel features Buffalo's first all-weather, urban hot springs/Roman bath.

The bar is called "Chez Ami" and makes one full rotation per hour, "at a non-discernible speed," to give patrons a 270-degree panoramic view of the city through giant picture windows.

[4] In 1924, Harlow C. Curtiss commissioned a second commercial and office building, to be built at 357-363 Delaware Avenue, and bearing the address as its name.