It is a large brick Greek Revival mansion constructed about 1838 as the country residence of David Stewart (1800-1858), a prominent Baltimore attorney and politician.

It is 2+1⁄2 stories high on a raised basement, three bays wide and two rooms deep, with a center-passage plan.

In the late 1950s, a brick stair tower was constructed when the building was adapted for public school use.

[3] In February 2023, a $2.2 million federal grant was announced to help create renovate the property into the headquarters of the Afro-American, an African-American newspaper published in Baltimore since 1892.

Afro Charities is the awardee of the grant which will also help to digitize thousands of images and copies of the newspaper.