[3][2] Since it ceased being used as a bank, the building at 77-79 Eighth Avenue had interior alterations, and has been the location of an Off-Broadway theater, a men's gym, and a museum.

The New York County National Bank was founded in 1855, and by 1877 occupied the lot at the southwest corner of Eighth Avenue and 14th Street.

[6] In February 1905, it bought the adjacent lot at 77 Eighth Avenue from John Jacob Astor, which contained a three-story printing house.

[6][8] By the time papers were filed with the city, the building was to be one story with an attic, and De Lemos and Cordes had brought in Rudolphe L. Daus on the project.

The City Beautiful movement also played a part in the choice of neoclassical design which, together with Robertson's bank, created a compatible ensemble for the intersection.

[16] The roof above the original building was lowered by several feet, and the penthouse was set back from the street to comply with landmarks regulations.

As a result, most of the apartments were used as pieds-à-terre until the early 2010s, when the opening of the High Line and nearby boutiques increased the neighborhood's fashionability.

[24] Rudolphe L. Daus, Mexican-born and educated in New York, Berlin, and Paris, was an 1879 graduate of the École des Beaux Arts and was the recipient of a number of awards and prizes for excellence in architecture.

The building's facade is rubbed South Dover marble, which has in the past been painted to match the stone's original color.

The pediment itself features a monumental eagle with its wings spread and its neck swooping downward, a change from the original design, in which the bird's head was to be raised.