[3][4] The firehouse consists of a five-story main building with a basement, as well as an adjacent seven-story watchtower that rises 126 feet (38 m).

[7]: 2  The entire structure has a 50-foot (15 m) wide frontage on the east side of Jay Street and a depth of 100 feet (30 m).

[6][8] By the 1990s, the Old Brooklyn Fire Headquarters was one of a small number of structures designed by Freeman that remained intact.

[12]: 101  The two bays on the right side comprise the main building and originally included one wide window on each of the second through fourth floors.

[12]: 101 [16] The basement had a concrete floor and contained various pieces of mechanical equipment, including an elevator room, boilers, and pumps.

[8] At ground level, the watchtower's main entrance led into a tiled vestibule and hallway; it had heavy oak doorways of antique finish.

[19] In November 1890, Brooklyn mayor Alfred C. Chapin agreed to buy a plot of land at 365 Jay Street, adjacent to the quarters of Engine Company 17, from local Democratic Party leader Hugh "Boss" McLaughlin for $15,000.

[19][20] Initially, city works commissioner John P. Adams was only willing to provide $80,000 for the construction of the fire headquarters.

[21] The city's Commission on Small Sites passed a resolution in January 1891, authorizing Brooklyn fire commissioner John Ennis to host an architectural design competition for a five-story structure costing up to $100,000.

Eventually, Frank Freeman, who had recently completed the Thomas Jefferson Association Building for the Kings County Democrats, was selected.

[13] The building was retained as a firehouse by the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) until the 1970s, serving as the home of various units including Ladder 110 and 118, Engine 207, and from 1947 to 1971, Battalion 31.

[30] In 1966, the building was designated as a New York City landmark,[14][31] and in 1972 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

[34] After the FDNY vacated the premises, the city government held an auction the building in January 1975, in which only nonprofit educational institutions were allowed to bid.

[36] New York state legislator Vito P. Battista ultimately submitted a high bid of $55,000;[37] he planned to relocate his Institute of Design and Construction to the building.

The city government, which had wanted to sell the building to Poly Tech, refused to accept any money from Battista other than his $11,000 down payment.

At the time, the building was to be renovated into a fire safety research center for Poly Tech, with laboratories.

[42] MetroTech Center, a commercial and educational complex, was developed next to the Brooklyn Fire Headquarters in the late 1980s, requiring 150 low-income or elderly residents to relocate.

[42] The Board of Estimate had overruled opponents' concerns by late 1987, mandating that the building be converted to residential uses.

Under city ownership, the deterioration continued; in 2006, the New York Times said that the building had a "musty, neglected air"[4] and was in need of maintenance, with parts of its roofing having disintegrated.

[3] In 2008, nonprofit organization Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) was given $400,000 to renovate the Jay Street firehouse.

[50][51] The project was announced in 2010 but was postponed several times because of objections from the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

[55] In addition, a deteriorated vault under the sidewalk, above the New York City Subway's Jay Street–MetroTech station, was fixed.

The Landmarks Preservation Commission's designation report described it as "one of New York's best and most striking architectural compositions" and "one of the finest buildings in Brooklyn.

"[58] Paul Goldberger wrote in 1986: "It is too derivative to be called truly original, but it is no less wonderful for that – this noble building seems to reach out and give us a bear hug, reminding us that public architecture can be both monumental and friendly.