The Baker House is important both for its architecture and for its role in Richmond's historic preservation efforts. It began as an austere Federal-period house with enormous chimneys. The addition of a large, elaborate veranda c. 1860 required the lengthening of the firstfloor windows. The veranda was subsequently removed and, as part of a restoration of the house by the William Byrd Branch of the APVA, Mary Wingfield Scott designed an entrance porch. The original two-story servants' quarters, clearly visible from the Mews, is a rare survival.