It is an L-shaped building of red and black brick construction in the Romanesque style and was designed by the office of James G. Hill, the Supervising Architect of the Treasury.

[3] The building was originally designed and constructed for the United States Department of the Treasury Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP).

The Bureau was founded in 1862 to allow the federal government to produce its own official documents; private companies having done so prior to this.

In 1878, land was purchased from philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran and an Act of Congress on June 28 of that year authorized commencement of construction.

In 1988, the 1891 addition known as the South Annex was demolished so that the adjacent United States Holocaust Memorial Museum could expand into the space.