[1] The James H. Brooks House stands in a residential area of the city's Prospect Hill neighborhood, on the north side of Columbus Avenue.

Set on a narrow lot, it is a 1+1⁄2-story wood-frame structure, with a mansard roof and clapboarded exterior.

It has a tower rising three stories on the left side; it is topped by a steep mansard-style roof, also with gable dormers, that is surmounted by an iron crested railing.

The first floor porch is supported by turned pillars on tall square piers, with paired brackets in the eaves.

[2] The house was built for James Brooks, a dry goods dealer in Union Square.