While working with Edward C. Cabot in the construction of the Italian Renaissance-style Boston Athenaeum (BH7), George Minot Dexter designed this large brownstone palazzo on Beacon Hill. Dexter's conservative approach to design as seen in the modest ornamentation and massing is evident, especially in comparison with Richard Upjohn's 70–72 Mount Vernon Street (
BH21
) in the same block. The first floor is rusticated with ashlar blocks and the two entrances are classical designs in the tradition of the Greek Revival. Unusual for Boston are the cast-iron balconies with their intricate Italian Renaissance floral motifs and the Egyptian Revival cavetto cornices above the second- and third-story windows.