Sited on a knoll on grounds encompassing 2.6 acres, the house marks the turn-of-the-twentieth-century transition from Queen Anne to Colonial Revival forms. The hipped roof, clapboard-sided, two-story house with Palladian dormers maintains a Victorian asymmetry and bay windows. The wraparound corner porch is situated on the leeward side of the house, affording protection from the Manoa rains, as well as offering splendid views of Diamond Head and Honolulu. In 1963, the Atherton heirs donated the house to the University of Hawaii for use as the University of Hawaii president's house.