Built for a local tobacconist and philanthropist, this imposing Italianate residence with its distinctive three-story window bays is, for Richmond, unique in that the major building material is sandstone, of the type commonly known as brownstone, such as that used in New York. The tendency of brownstone to scale is amply apparent in the present building. Aubrey Chesterman, a leading Lynchburg, Virginia, architect, later converted the building to apartments, and more recently it has been used as an office building.