The Moderne-style building was constructed of reinforced concrete, faced predominantly with beige brick and trimmed with limestone.

The building had a water tower that was painted to resemble a roll of Necco Wafers; during the alterations of the property for use by Novartis, the water tower was retained, and is now painted with a DNA pattern in pastel colors.

One of these, Ball and Fobes, had in 1860 acquired another competitor whose equipment included precursors to those used to manufacture Necco Wafers.

It was built in 1925-27 to serve as the company's sole manufacturing facility, replacing earlier facilities (which are now part of the Fort Point Channel Historic District) in Boston, and was at the time the world's largest candy factory.

The building was designed in the Moderne style by a company engineer, F. C. Lutze, and built by Lockwood & Greene.