The building was reopened on February 20, 2000, as the Thurgood Marshall Center in honor of the first African American Associate Justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court.

Completed in 1912, the Renaissance Revival building was designed by William Sidney Pittman, one of the United States' first African American architects and a son-in-law of Booker T. Washington.

Its main facade is three bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a Tuscan portico with entablature, modillioned cornice, and low balustrade above.

After a membership drive revitalized the organization, it secured a pledge from John D. Rockefeller Sr. for $25,000, which was matched by fundraising from across the nation's African-American community.

In 1983, in coordination with Real Estate developer George T. Farrell, Walter Fauntroy fully restored the building and adapted it for the use of the community by providing a full service health and recreational facility administered by the YMCA.

The renovation spurred increased gentrification of the Shaw community from a low income enclave to a young urban professional locale bringing a surprising change for the current residents.