Upon completion, the building contained ground-floor retail with offices above, with the top floor reserved for Merritt himself.

[2][3] In December 1956, Home Savings and Loan Association purchased the building, after which they modernized the lower floors and added a Millard Sheets-designed entrance on Broadway.

[5][6] Merritt Building is made of concrete and steel with a Yule Marble facade.

It was designed in the Neoclassical/Italian Renaissance/Beaux Arts style and features ionic columns and heavy cornice that create a rendition of the Temple of Minerva on a three story plinth.

Each floor is separated by a prominent belt course, and the building's second story originally featured prominent rustication, however this was covered by smooth masonry when the building was modernized following its purchase by the Home Savings and Loan Association.